


Age of the Geek

by Book_Warrior7, Singing_Dream



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Best Friend Undyne, Bonding, Cat Paws, Female Reader, Hope, It's early on so we can get it out of the way quickly, Mages - Undertale, Magic, Mild Betrayal of Trust, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Attempted Murder, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Past Car Explosion, Past Character Death, Past Disassociation, Past Explosion with Casualties, Past Witness to Death, Past and present recovery, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader has a cat, Reader has a dark past, Reader has siblings, Reader-Insert, Red String of Fate, Some Past Gore, Soulmates, Souls, Survivor Guilt, There are so many reader tags I want to use, but spoilers, past trauma, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2020-07-23 10:46:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 74,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20007040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_Warrior7/pseuds/Book_Warrior7, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singing_Dream/pseuds/Singing_Dream
Summary: You live a pretty simple life. You work as a YouTuber and an artist, live with your siblings and cat, and sometimes hang out with your best friend and her girlfriend. But frankly, you...get kind of lonely, sometimes.That tends to happen when you have anxiety and are so shy, you shut yourself away from the rest of the world as much as possible.When a freak set of circumstances shoves a couple of skeleton monsters into your quiet existence, the lonely days you thought you knew are shattered. They want to help you, and one of them even wants to heal everything that's broken and hurting. But, as everyone soon discovers, things are never quite that easy...with or without the magic.





	1. The Jak and Daxter Episode

You were not a morning person. Despite this fact, you got up every day around five thirty in the morning. Why? Because your gray tabby cat, Zephyr, demanded to be fed and refused to go bother one of your siblings, who had to be up in an hour anyway. This morning was no different, waking up to loud meows right in your face and your cheek being delicately pawed at.

You grumbled at your cat, staring into his heterochromatic eyes for a bit before finally sighing and sitting up.

“Mrrow.”

“Morning to you, too, Zephyr. Ya sour puss. You actually going to eat your dry food today without the wet food mixed in?”

When you were rewarded with another meow for your question, you had to snicker at how off-hand and nonchalant it sounded.

“Yeah, I know. Silly question. But one worth asking.”

You smiled to yourself as you stretched, your joints popping softly with the action. As much as you hated the early morning wake-up calls, you were grateful for them. It gave you the chance to see your siblings every morning before they had to rush off to work. So without any further complaint, you walked from your room to the kitchen, sliding down the banister next to the stairs on your way. (Hey, it was fun! And far faster than trying to navigate the stairs. So don’t judge.)

Once you made it to the kitchen, you quickly refilled Zephyr’s dry food, scooping up his dishes for wet food and water and sticking the water dish in the sink to be filled. A few minutes after your noisy retrieval and preparation of Zephyr’s wet food, one of your siblings wanders in, bleary eyed and needing coffee. Having set the coffee pot up yourself the night before, you smile as you glance up at the sibling in question.

“Hey Jax,” you greeted your older brother as he passed you. He grunted, rubbing his eyes as he reached past you for the coffee mugs. “Another rough night?”

“Al doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘take it slow’ or ‘low-key’,” he sighed, to which you laughed. Your older brother, Jackson, was a trainer at the gym, so he got a lot of clients that were pretty rough around the edges. (And yes, it was just the gym. As in, it was the only one in town. You lived in a pretty small town, after all.) Out of everyone Jackson trained or trained with, Alphys was the roughest. He met the former Captain of the Royal Guard a year and a half after monsters first came to the surface, and they became friends pretty quickly. As Jackson’s best friend, they trained and sparred together all the time, even though she wasn’t one of his clients. But he was still having to teach the lizard/dinosaur woman how to not demolish people in a fight. It was a good thing he was patient to a fault.

Having met Alphys yourself (finally) a few months ago, you knew he was right. Alphys basically had no chill. It was kind of hilarious to watch her try to be patient and calm with anything that wasn’t anime or her girlfriend, Undyne.

“I’m not surprised,” you finally snorted, “She’s a tank, Jax. Tanks only have two modes: calm, and raining down hell upon thine enemies.”

He chuckled at your description and the old nickname, reaching out to ruffle your hair. You quickly ducked out of his reach as you put down Zephyr’s bowls for wet food and water. (You cat meowed his thanks to you before going to town on the wet food. Typical. At least he bothered to show gratitude.)

“Nu-uh! I’ve still got bed-head, mister. You’re not messing up my hair any more than the rat’s nest it already is.”

Jackson laughed again, shaking his head. There came a soft grumbling from the doorway, and both of you turned to see the newcomer.

It was your older sister, Raya. She was looking at the two of you grumpily, and if her mass of messy dark hair was any indication, she, too, had just gotten out of bed.

“Morning, Raya!”

She glared at you. You weren’t fazed, but instead had Jackson pass you a mug, which you passed to Raya. Her glare lessened some as she shuffled past. There was silence as she got her coffee, until about half-way through her first cup.

“Ah, sweet nectar of the gods…” she sighed, to which all of you laughed and grinned. Raya was the worst out of the three of you when it came to mornings, but once she’s woken up enough and had her coffee, she was one of the most personable people you knew. Granted, you didn’t know that many people, but whatever.

“Boss work you pretty hard?” Jackson asked, refilling his own mug. (You personally didn’t need coffee, but you understood your siblings’ need for it, so you would make it for them when they came home too tired to set up the coffee pot themselves. Yeah, you were a pretty great little sister.) Raya nodded, sipping at her drink.

“Yeah. But I’m not sure how much longer I’m gonna stay there. The hours are horrendous, the pay is shit, and I’m the only one willing to wait any tables that have even one monster at them,” Raya growled, frustrated. She was a waitress at a small local restaurant, and dealt with people far more than you could even comprehend. While generally friendly and a hard worker, there was only so much even she could take when it came to bigoted assholes. And the restaurant she worked at wasn’t known for being terribly monster friendly when she wasn’t on shift.

Even five years after monsters first came up from the Underground, there were still some people that just couldn’t accept them, and that made the blood of all three of you boil. Your household had been monster friendly from the get-go, and had stayed that way this whole time. Hell, Jackson’s best friend was Alphys, the former Captain of the Royal Guard, and you were besties with her girlfriend Undyne. And both of them talked constantly about how their other friends wanted to meet you. (Jackson had already met most of them by now, and Raya had met one or two through him. You, however, were far too shy for that.)

“Honestly, Raya, I don’t know how you’ve put up with it this long,” you voiced with a frown, going about making your morning cup of tea. (They had coffee, you had tea. Undyne had been more than happy to pass along some different monster teas for you to try once she found out.) “I mean, I don’t know how you can deal with that many people in general, but…you get the point.”

She nodded, sighing into her mug. Even Jackson frowned. Bigotry was not a pleasant topic in your house. As if sensing the sour mood, Zephyr meowed loudly, head-butting your leg and rubbing up against you for attention. You glanced down and smiled a little, picking up your sweet kitty, cradling him in your arms. Both Jackson and Raya smiled a little too, gravitating to you to pet Zephyr. He purred like a motor, pleased with the attention.

“Leave it to the little hellion to know exactly how to lift the mood,” you murmured, scratching delicately under his chin. Your siblings chuckled. Yep, bad mood banished. Good job, Zephyr.

“So what are you going to do? About the restaurant, I mean,” you finally asked Raya, and she sighed again, still petting your cat.

“Well, I’ll keep working for now. But I swear to god, if the manager doesn’t start doing something about the way the others treat monsters, I’m gonna quit. I _will not_ work somewhere that is so toxic.”

“Good for you, Raya,” Jackson nodded in approval, your head bobbing along with his. “If things don’t end up working out, I’ll see if I can’t talk to my manager or somebody at the gym, see if I can’t find a position for you. That way, you won’t have to hunt for a job.”

Raya smiled, her silver eyes shining with love and happiness.

“Thanks, Jax. I don’t know what I’d do at the gym, but thanks, nonetheless.”

He nodded, then turned his gaze to you. Oh no. You knew that look. Oh, please, spare you just one morning without…

“I’m pretty sure I could find you a position, too, ______. It’d help you get out of the house more often. Maybe get used to being around people a little?”

You instantly clammed up, ducking your head and fidgeting with your hair once you put Zephyr down. Nope. Even just the thought of dealing with other people, and you shut down. This is why you couldn’t have a normal job. This was why your circle consisted of two monsters, your siblings, and your cat. No matter how they tried, none of them could get you to outgrow the shyness you’d had since you were a little girl, and it was more of a handicap than your actual handicap. True, you didn’t have social anxiety or anything…but like Undyne, you were extremely, painfully shy. It was something you’d never been able to overcome, so rather than deal with it, you just shut yourself in your house and rarely came out. Not that your siblings blamed you for that. In fact, they tried to be understanding, and they never pushed you more than the occasional offer or words of encouragement to get out more often, but at the same time…it was still enough to bring the walls up, even around them.

“No thanks, Jax,” you all but whispered, moving around him to finish making your tea now that it had steeped long enough. “I-I just…I can’t. I still…I can’t even think about it. Not without…I-I’d have a nervous breakdown, or I’d freak out on a customer, or…”

“It’s okay, ______. No one’s forcing you into anything you’re not ready for,” Raya said soothingly, placing a hand on your shoulder with a supportive smile. Jackson nodded, looking sorry for upsetting you. A tiny, half-hearted smile of gratitude flickered across your face before your eyes dropped back to your tea.

The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful, and eventually you relaxed, neither one of your siblings mentioning it again. You had a few people requesting commissions, both from Raya and Jackson, for your art. You considered the options, then decided to take them all, thinking that the money would be nice. Though you weren’t hard up for money – your parents had been pretty rich, and everything they had had been left to you and your siblings when they died, so it wasn’t like any of you actually had to work. But all of you took jobs anyway, since it just felt good to actually have the routine of a job. And being extremely financially stable certainly didn’t hurt anything.

Then both of your siblings had to leave for the day, so you stood on the porch and waved to them as they both drove off, making sure Zephyr didn’t get outside. After going back inside, you made yourself some breakfast (egg sandwich with cheese, yum!), then took your new cup of tea upstairs with you to get your day started.

Being a YouTuber wasn’t as easy as they all made it look, but you managed. And it was pretty fun. Play games and do whatever you wanted for your channel and you’d get paid for it. Pretty sweet deal, as far as jobs went. Not to mention your little side business of taking commissions for your art, both physical and digital, meant you also had something to fall back on if YouTube ever failed you. Of course, the reverse was also true. If your clients for your art ever dried up, then you had YouTube to fall back on. While not a perfect system, and balancing your time between different things was tricky some days, it made you happy.

And at least you didn’t need to worry about what you needed to record for today. You already had two games in progress, and that was plenty for the two videos a day you were able to crank out for your YouTube channel. After all, you still had to edit them, too – and you always edited your videos yourself. You didn’t need a crew for something you had the time and skill to do yourself. Besides, that meant people. Screw that.

One long session of recording yourself playing _Amnesia: The Dark Descent_ later, you got up and stretched, heading out of your recording room (which was _not_ your bedroom – you were more professional than that, dammit!) to go work on one of the physical commissions. The request was extremely vague, so it gave you a lot of creative license to work with. All the client wanted was something peaceful. Well, peaceful, you could do. There were just so many options to choose from! So many things evoked a feeling of tranquility…eventually, you settled on painting your cat sleeping all stretched out in the windowsill. After sketching out the initial idea, you decided to add little details like adjusting the lighting so it’d portray a sunrise, and a cup of some warm drink sitting on the sill with the cat, steam rising gently from the cup. Or scratch the sunrise idea – maybe you’d do a rainy day outside instead? Nah, the shadows involved would obscure the cat’s face.

The painting was almost to completion when your phone went off in the pocket of your smock. You groaned, putting down your work and cleaning off your hands before reaching for the device. There was never a time you hated hearing your ringtones more than when you were in the middle of something, whether it be painting, working with your digital mediums, or recording (for which you always turned it to vibrate – couldn’t have the mics picking up your nerdy-ass ringtones). It was Jackson.

**_Daxter:_ ** _Hey, ______. Raya’s working a double today, and I’ll be stuck with a client at the gym until late. We need groceries. Can you get them?_

(You and Undyne were competing for the title of nerdiest person ever, you were sure. After all, it was your idea to make your brother’s contact into a _Jak & Daxter_ reference. Besides, you didn’t like making people’s actual names their contacts in your phone – it was so much more fun to find the nerdiest reference you could for them and use that. Especially given that if anyone looked at your phone and tried to read your messages, they would most likely have no idea who you were actually talking to. It was hilarious.)

You bit your lip and tugged at you hair. You knew you were running low on groceries, but…you really didn’t want to have to be the one to go out to get them. Knowing your problems with people, both your siblings avoided asking you to do stuff like this unless they didn’t have a choice. So if Jackson was asking, that meant you were borderline out of groceries. With both of them tied up until far too late to run out and get anything once they got off, that meant it was your turn. Shit. You glanced at your painting and sighed. Yeah, you’d hate every second of it, but you could force yourself to do this.

**_You:_ ** _Yeah, I got it. Finishing up this painting 1 st, then heading out._

**_Daxter:_ ** _Thanks. We owe you!_

**_You:_ ** _Damn right! Jk, don’t worry about it. It’d suck 2 starve, right?_

Wow. How you managed to sound so chill and cool over text and chat always escaped you. In person, you were a mess – a quiet mess, but a mess either way. But whatever. You had a painting to finish, then groceries to buy! Despite how nervous that thought made you, you didn’t drag your feet in finishing the painting, and your hands stayed steady and strong. No weird brushstrokes for you!

Once the painting was finished, you went and cleaned up, changing into some of your comfiest clothes to help you stay relaxed while you were out and about (or so you told yourself). Given that it was between late spring and early summer, it wasn’t super hot just yet, but it wasn’t really cool enough to warrant you wearing one of your hoodies…ah, who cares? Hoodies were nice and comfy and good for hiding in. You were wearing one. Besides, nerd hoodies to go with nerd shirts for the win. And…shorts. Yep. Warm enough for shorts, but you were wearing a hoodie. Because fuck fashion. And fuck people’s opinions of your fashion sense.

Once you were properly equipped with sneakers as well, you went out to the garage to get your bike and attach the basket to the handlebars again. Why did you keep taking the damn thing off, again? More often than not, you ended up needing to put it back on the next time you went out, anyway. But with it affixed to your bike, you braced yourself and began pedaling, pointing your bike down the driveway and out to the street.

Oh, riding your bike was painful! But only for the first few seconds. Once you got into the rhythm of pedaling, the pain eased, and you made it to the store without too much trouble. Traffic was a bit of a bitch, but that was to be expected. It was getting close to lunchtime now, so you were facing the lunch crowds. Well _that_ certainly wasn’t going to do anything for your shyness and anxiety. Oh well. You locked up your bike outside of the store and took a few deep breaths before making your way inside.

It wasn’t until you were standing there considering if you needed a cart or a basket did you realize you had no idea what you actually needed to get. Mentally cursing yourself, you moved out of the way of other customers and pulled your phone out of your pocket.

**_You:_ ** _I 4got 2 check wat we needed, & I’m already here…_

**_Daxter:_ ** _I got you, sis. Took a pic of the list Raya and I made this morning. Sending it to you ASA-NOW._

**_You:_ ** _U’re a lifesaver! Thnx!_

**_Daxter:_ ** _Np, baby sis. And don’t worry about the cold stuff on the list. One of us will get it tomorrow._

It took a minute, but once the picture came in, you sighed a little in relief. Okay, cold stuff excluded, it wasn’t a long list. You guys ordered in more often than Jackson would like to admit, given that he works at a gym. But that fact in mind, he also worked off all those calories every day, so he had nothing to worry about. And for that matter, neither did you or Raya. You were all blessed with fast metabolisms, thanks to your parents’ genetics. But your mind was beginning to wander. It did that a lot.

Steeling yourself again, you made your way over to grab a cart before heading into the rest of the store for your supplies.

Really, it wasn’t even that bad of a trip. You got what you needed, got checked out, and hardly anyone stared at you. Even better, the cashier seemed to understand that you were shy and not up to talking, because they left you alone. But it was still a relief to step back outside and load your groceries into the basket of your bike. Before long, you were headed home again…or you would have been, if that truck behind you wasn’t about to hit you! Thinking quickly, you pedaled as fast as your (painful) handicap (oh so painful) would allow (Jesus Christ, that hurt!), then veered onto a residential street just before the truck’s front bumper would have clipped your back tire. You pulled to a stop as the offending vehicle sped by, laughter coming from the open window.

And this was why you didn’t like going out. Okay, this actually had nothing to do with it, but this was a damned good reason not to leave the house for at least a week! You panted and rubbed your aching lower back and leg while you calmed your racing heart. That was _far_ too close. And people wondered why you didn’t drive. As much as you admitted the exercise was good for your old injury, and the thought of a bike being more eco-friendly warmed your heart a little, the truth was that you didn’t really trust cars. You’d ride in them, sure. But you sure as hell didn’t want to be behind the wheel of one. And that was for reasons most people in your small town already understood.

Sighing now that you had your breath back, you glanced back behind you and considered trying to get back on the main road. But with traffic as bad as it was right now, it was probably safer for you to stick to the side streets. And you’d take safety over…well, just about anything, really. You ran a quick hand through your hair, pushed up your glasses, and set off again, trying to pay attention to where you were so not to get lost. Sure, you’d lived your whole life in this town, but that didn’t mean you knew it like the back of your hand or anything. So becoming lost was a real possibility.

And that possibility became reality several minutes into your ride, when you realized you hadn’t seen a street sign in a while. Had you passed one and not noticed? Probably. But it wouldn’t help to try and backtrack. That only ever wound up getting you more lost. You…had no sense of direction. Sighing again, you stopped your bike and looked around. Nope, still not a street sign in sight. And this looked like a rougher neighborhood, too. Damn. How did you wind up back here? Whatever. You hopped off your bike and held it up with one hand, using the other to pull out your phone and start trying to find your location. This was what Google Maps was made for, right?

As you searched your location and tried to figure out where the hell you’d gotten so turned around this time, you didn’t notice the group approaching you until you were mostly surrounded and just happened to glance up. Well, fuck. Forget being shy and anxious – the men surrounding you scared you. And from the way they were sizing you up, it seemed like they weren’t interested in a polite conversation.

“Look-y what we’ve got here,” the leader (you assumed) cooed at you, stepping closer. “Seems like somebody’s on the wrong turf.”

Your expression flickered to confusion as you glanced down at what you were wearing. _Shit_ , they thought you were a member of a rival gang or something!

“I-it’s not like that…” you tried to explain, you hand tightening on your phone.

“Oh yeah, little girl? Then what’s it like? Cause it _looks_ like you’re _trespassing_.”

“I-I was just on my way home, f-from the store, and I got l-lost. I-I’m not part of a gang, I swear!”

“Aw, little girl lost her way…boo-fuckin’-hoo, sweet cheeks,” the leader sneered, clearly not believing you. As the circle of men tightened around you, tears sprang to your eyes. Your imagination was spinning wildly out of control, ideas of what they could do to you flashing through your mind, heightening your fear. You wanted to call for help, but your throat closed up before you could get out more than a whimper, trying to pull in on yourself and desperately wishing a thousand things at once. You watched the leader pull back his fist and instinctively ducked low over your bike, a yelp of terror escaping you as you flinched. But –

“FEAR NOT, HUMAN! I WILL SAVE YOU FROM THESE OTHER, NOT-AS-NICE HUMANS!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around through the first chapter! This is my first ever reader-insert story, so I apologize if it's a bit messy. But it's definitely a nice change of pace from my usual writings, I will say that much! I'd also like to add that this isn't going to have a set posting schedule, as all our other works are currently on hiatus because of some...life circumstances that I still have been unable to resolve, unfortunately. This is less of me breaking the hiatus to post something else and more of me thinking...this is one of the few works I have that isn't connected to the Skies sisters in some way, so it's a nice sort of stand-alone, if you will. And, while very much unfinished, it'll update sporadically as I get more worked out with my wonderful beta and co-author, Book_Warrior7. Thanks again for stopping by! -S


	2. The Attack on Titan Episode

Your head shot up at the new voice and all eyes went to the intruder: a skeleton, not much shorter than you (and you were pretty short), with big blue eyes, and what looked to be gray and blue armor on. The skeleton leapt into the middle of the group, effectively pushing all the men back with his presence alone. But nonetheless, he turned to you with a big grin and a proud pose, his little blue bandana fluttering in the nonexistent breeze.

“STAND BACK, HUMAN! I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, SHALL PROTECT YOU!”

You blinked blankly at him, frozen where you stood at his side. What even was going on right now? Were you being pranked or something? This was like something out of an anime…

Regardless, Sans (you had to assume that was his name) stepped forward, ready to defend you. You couldn’t help but watch in blank shock and confusion as he tried to talk the gang members into leaving you alone. When they started attacking him, he refused to fight back, and the activity snapped you out of your trance. Finally glancing at your phone (still in your hand, by the way), you started mouthing the location to yourself, and dialed 9-1-1. Rather than hitting call, however, you glanced up in time to see one of them had gotten his hands on Sans, and the small streak of bravery you had flared up in response.

“Hey!”

Your shout was loud enough to get all of their attentions. Even the little skeleton glanced over at you, his eyes (eye sockets?) wide. Your usual anxiety at the sudden attention threatened to smother your burst of courage, but you refused to allow it. Sans was clearly very brave, but he needed your help, goddammit. You weren’t about to let him down!

“If you don’t put him down and leave us alone, I-I’m gonna call the cops!”

Shit. Still couldn’t keep the tremble of fear out of your voice. The men either were glaring or sneering, but you held your phone high over your head, as if it would help them see that you were serious.

“You ain’t gonna do it, girly. You don’t got the balls.”

“Oh yeah? D-don’t believe me? Well, s-since I’ve already got the number dialed…” You brought the phone down to your level again, and, forcing yourself to make eye contact with all of the men at least once, mashed your screen with your thumb.

You smiled a little as you lifted your phone to your ear. Some of them looked scared now. _All_ of them looked scared when you started rattling off the information you knew the operator would be asking for if they’d actually picked up. Yeah, it was a risky bluff, but it was already paying off, most of the members scattering as you talked. A few stayed, looking panicked now, and your courage vanished when one of them took a couple steps towards you. Shit. Plan backfire.

But before he could reach you, the man was enveloped in an orange glow, and suddenly, he was levitating in front of you. You gaped in shock, almost dropping your phone. You actually _did_ drop your phone when he was thrown backwards into one of his buddies. The one still holding Sans promptly dropped the little skeleton before taking off running, him and the last of the gang members running off after him.

The danger had passed. You were safe. You were so scared and relieved all at once that you just sat on the ground, one hand still supporting your bike next to you. Tears flooded your vision, reducing Sans to nothing more than a colorful blurry blob.

“you okay, bro?” came a new voice as a tall (very tall, very, _very_ tall) orange, white, and brown blob approached the Sans-blob. (Was it just your imagination, or when the new voice spoke, did all other sound literally stop? That was probably you and some weird thing going on with your hearing from the shock.)

“YES, I AM UNHARMED. THANK YOU, BROTHER! I THOUGHT THOSE HUMANS WERE NOT GOING TO GIVE UP FOR A MOMENT! BUT THEY COULDN’T STAND THE THOUGHT OF OUR COMBINED MIGHT, I SUPPOSE! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

“yeah. that must’ve been it. good going, bro.”

Now they both turned towards you, and they got clearer through the blur of your tears as they approached. Now Sans was at least a little more defined, and you could see he was worried as he knelt next to you.

“HUMAN? ARE YOU HURT? WHY ARE YOU CRYING?”

“think they were just scared, bro. but seriously. you okay?”

You finally manage a nod, but you’re still shaking like a leaf, and when a sob tears its way out of your throat, you switch to shaking you head. No, you are most certainly _not okay._ Yes, physically, you were fine. But you’re an emotional wreck right now, and as much as it bothered you to be around strangers, they just saved your life. So when Sans went for a hug, you held on tight and sobbed into his shoulder. Screw your normal shyness and awkward anxiety.

After a minute, Sans picked you up and carried you…somewhere (you couldn’t see, you were too busy burying your face against him), while you heard his bother shuffling around behind him. Once the small skeleton put you down, you started to calm down, and saw the taller figure wheeling your bike through the door before kicking it shut behind him.

“HUMAN?” Sans asked in a voice you wouldn’t have thought possible given his earlier volume and energy. “WOULD YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO DRINK? PERHAPS SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER?”

You sniffed softly as your tears finally began to slow, nodding against him. Sans, however, didn’t make a move to let you go, but instead, nodded for his brother to go fetch you something. Now that you were calming down, you noticed that being this close to the skeleton monster, he faintly smelled of…blueberries? No, that was just the bandana. Sans himself was more like a mix of blueberries, tacos, and something clean and fresh. It was an odd mixture, but not an unpleasant one.

There was silence as the taller figure disappeared from view with your bike, then clanking from the kitchen. As you stayed curled up against Sans, he continued to rub your back soothingly.

“YOU KNOW, HUMAN…THAT WAS VERY BRAVE OF YOU TO TRY TO DEFEND ME LIKE THAT. THOUGH YOU DID NOT NEED TO CALL THE HUMAN AUTHORITIES. WE CERTAINLY HAD IT UNDER CONTROL! MWEH-HEH-HEH!”

You had to smile a little at his laugh. Sans had the cutest laugh you’d ever heard. And he thought you were brave for trying to rescue him…after _he_ tried to rescue _you_. He was pretty damn precious.

“I didn’t…” you murmured.

“WHAT WAS THAT, HUMAN?”

“I…um…I didn’t actually call the police. I was going to, but my thumb missed the button. But after making such a big deal out of it, I had to at least pretend. It…that wasn’t _brave_ , that was _stupid_. I should have called them…”

You sighed, feeling the pressure of your shyness creeping up on you again. It was kind of awkward to be cuddled up to a perfect stranger like this, but even worse was you admitting that you’d actually done something that easily could have gotten both of you killed. But Sans didn’t pull away like you were expecting, so you glanced at his face. Well, damn. He _was_ staring at you with those big blue eyes of his. (He was a skeleton. How can he have eyes in the first place? And how the hell was it so cute?)

“WHILE PERHAPS RECKLESS TO PRETEND THAT YOU CALLED THE HUMAN AUTHORITIES, IT WASN’T STUPID. MOST OF THE NOT-AS-NICE HUMANS BELIEVED YOU AND RAN AWAY! I’D SAY THAT WAS VERY SMART INDEED!”

You stared at the smiling skeleton in surprise, then ducked your head and blushed, your shyness getting the better of you.

“Oh…but…I could have gotten us hurt or killed doing that…you’re really not upset?”

“NOT AT ALL, HUMAN! YOU WERE DOING WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION! AND IT WAS QUITE BRAVE OF YOU TO STAND UP TO THEM WHEN YOU WERE SO SCARED! YOU WERE ALMOST AS MAGNIFICENT AS ME! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

You couldn’t help a giggle. Sure, the words sounded narcissistic, but coming from Sans, it was just cute. Especially when he followed it with that adorable laugh of his! When you risked a glance at his face again, his eyes had actual stars in them from you laughing. That made you blush, your shyness making you squirm a little and fidget with you hair.

“YOU SEEM TO BE IN MUCH BETTER SPIRITS NOW, HUMAN! I’M GLAD!”

“Heh…yeah…thanks…”

“yo. got you something.”

You jumped at the sound of the second voice, turning to look up at Sans’ brother. And now that you could see him clearly, you could see that the orange and brown blobs you’d seen were his clothes – an orange hoodie and brown cargo shorts (you could respect that) – and the white were his bones. Of course he was a skeleton, too. But _wow_ your initial observation wasn’t wrong. He freaking towered over you without even trying. It was a little intimidating…even with the sucker stick poking out from between his teeth, the lazy way he was looking at you, and – oh, he was holding out something for you. Shit. When you remembered how to breathe (oh good god, when had you stopped breathing? It would explain why you heart was hammering, but not why you kept staring _quitthatforgodssake_ ), you murmured a thanks, taking the wrapped item and staring at it for a minute before realizing what it was. Ice cream. Or, more likely, Nice Cream, since monsters couldn’t eat plain human food.

Well, you’d only ever had monster food around Alphys and Undyne before, but you knew it would help, so you gingerly opened the wrapper and started to lick at the soft treat, smiling at the taste. Orange Dreamsicle, your favorite! Only once you were contentedly chowing down on the Nice Cream did Sans ask what the wrapper said. Right. That was a thing with Nice Creams. You glanced at it and your smile grew, a happy and warm feeling settling in your heart.

“Every cloud,” you read, “has a silver lining. So keep your chin up and look for the good things today. You deserve them.”

“I QUITE AGREE, HUMAN! FOR EXAMPLE! THAT SIUTATION WAS PRETTY SCARY! BUT IF IT HADN’T HAPPENED, WE NEVER WOULD HAVE MET! THERE’S A SILVER LINING! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

You giggled again, but kept your head down, fiddling with your hair as you ate the Nice Cream.

“so. since you never actually answered us earlier. you hurt?”

You shook your head, finally forcing yourself to get off of Sans. He was comfy, but it was really awkward to keep sitting all curled up in a ball at his side.

“good. so, mind filling us in on what happened back there?”

“Well…I was riding my bike home from the store…but this truck came up behind me. They almost hit me. I pulled off on a residential street so they wouldn’t, but…I thought it’d be safer if I stayed off the main street as long as traffic was that bad. Lunchtime rush and all. But I got lost…and when I stopped to pull up a map on my phone to figure out where I was, they surrounded me. I…I was really scared…they thought I was part of a rival gang because I didn’t think about the color of my hoodie…y-you guys saved me…thank you…”

Whew. That was more than you usually said to strangers at any one time. Go you for getting through it all! Even if you almost started crying again. Sans rubbed your shoulder sympathetically, still smiling sweetly. His brother flashed a look of irritation when you mentioned the truck almost hitting you, and that the men thought you were a rival gang member, but both times, you weren’t sure if you saw it or not.

“OF COURSE, HUMAN! I TOLD YOU THAT I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, WOULD PROTECT YOU! AND I DID – WITH THE HELP OF MY BROTHER, OF COURSE!! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

You smiled and suppressed the urge to laugh with him, glancing at him shyly.

“Yeah, you did. Thank you, Sans…oh. I don’t know your brother’s name. U-um. I-I’m ______, by the way. ______ ______.”

“papyrus. papyrus the skeleton. kinda wish we were meeting under better circumstances, ______.”

You shook his hand, if a little hesitantly, and nodded. Then it suddenly occurred to you.

“Oh! My phone! I dropped it outside! I –”

“don’t worry, kid. already got it when i grabbed your bike.”

“Oh…thank you…god, I owe you both so much…”

“THINK NOTHING OF IT, HUMAN-______! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REPAY US FOR AIDING YOU! IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!”

“Well thank you again. But there must be something I can do…”

Before either skeleton could reply, your brother’s ringtone (the title song from season two of the anime _Attack on Titan_ ) stole the show, making you jump. And that was exactly why you had been worried about where your phone was. You quickly dove for your bike’s basket, fumbling with the phone and almost missing the call.

“H-hello?” you answered a bit breathlessly, blushing furiously as you stepped into the kitchen for some privacy.

“______? You okay? You sound awful. You still at the store? I can call you back later if –”

“I-I’m…I’m okay, Jackson,” you answered, purposely using his full first name. You and Raya only ever called him by his full first name when you were serious, so he would know something was up.

“What happened? Where are you? Do I need to come get you? Should I call Raya?”

“Jackson, stop! I…one thing at a time. I can’t answer you if you freak out and don’t let me. I’m safe. I ran into some trouble on the way home from the store, but I’m fine now. Some monsters helped me, and I’m at their house now. I think. And either way, I don’t want you or Raya to come get me. You guys are at work. I can’t ask you to step away for something so stupid as me getting lost.”

“______, you know neither one of us gives a shit if it’s something small as you spilled paint at the house and need help cleaning it up. As soon as we tell our superiors it’s a family thing, we always get the green light to come and help. Besides, you’re our baby sister. If you need us, we’ll always be there. And you getting lost is not stupid. You have a terrible sense of direction and we all know it. So, I repeat…where are you? Do you need one of us to come get you?”

You chew on your lip in thought, wondering if you actually want to tell Jackson where you are. He and Raya both are extremely protective of you, and once they find out what happened today, neither one of them will rest until they’re sure you’re safe and today won’t be a repeat occurrence. That’ll be enough of a hassle. But you also don’t want to ask Sans and Papyrus for a ride home. You know you could just say you’ll ride your bike back, but all three would agree without even meeting that that was not an actual option. Not when that was how you got into this mess in the first place.

“I…”

“need a ride?”

You jump and gasp, almost dropping you phone. Papyrus chuckles as he watches you fumble with your phone, trying not to drop it. Once you manage to stop juggling the electronic, you shoot him a glare before putting the phone back to your ear.

“What was that?”

“One of the ones who saved me startled me. He asked if I needed a ride.”

“Well, it’s up to you, baby sis. Would you rather ride home with one of us, or the…ones who…saved you? Wait.”

“I should have phrased that better, huh?”

“Yeah. Uh, look, the choice is still up to you, but either way, I’m meeting whoever this is. ‘Kay?”

“Yeah. Okay. Um…Papyrus? A-a ride home would be nice…if it’s not too much trouble…”

“no trouble. but your bike and the groceries will have to go in the trunk.”

“That’s fine. Thank you. Again. I still owe you.”

The tall skeleton shrugged, then sauntered back to the living room, presumably to tell Sans they were taking you home and load up your things. Ugh, you definitely owed them big time. And Jackson and Raya would agree. These skeletons weren’t leaving your house without the three of you showing them some form of gratitude. But back to you phone conversation.

“Okay. So I’m gonna head out of here and meet you at the house, then.”

“Yeah.”

“You calling Raya, or me? You know what, never mind. I’ll call her. Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch you when you get home. Stay safe, alright?”

“Yeah. You too, Jax.”

You both said goodbye and hung up, stuffing the phone back in your pocket as you made you way back out to the living room. The front door was standing open (clearly meant for you to join the skeletal brothers outside), and you could hear Sans’ voice from here. As you exited the house, Sans’ voice finally became clear enough for you to hear.

“BUT THE TRUNK WON’T CLOSE WITH HER BIKE INSIDE, PAPY!” (Papy? Oh, you would have to remember that. That was just too cute and precious! What a little cinnamon roll Sans was!) “WE SHOULD TIE IT TO THE CAR!”

“that’ll damage the car and her bike, bro.”

You huffed a small laugh to yourself, closing their door behind you and walking around to the brothers.

“Guys?” you interjected meekly. “Um…there’s an easier way to deal with my bike. I’ll just…”

You quietly edged around them to get to your bike. Lucky for you, you had wanted one of the collapsible models. After detaching the basket again, you released the mechanisms that kept the bike from folding in on itself, slipping the chain off and removing the pedals so it would lay better. The chain and the pedals you dropped into the detached basket, then returned the now folded bike to the trunk, shutting it easily.

When you turned around, you found them both staring at you. This got you to blushing and tugging at your hair again.

“What?” you asked, voice barely a whisper.

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT, HUMAN?” Sans asked, looking mystified.

“I…it’s a collapsible bike. I just pressed the buttons that kept it locked into place, then folded it. It’s nothing that special…”

“WOWIE! THAT’S SO COOL!”

“heh, i’ll say.”

You blush and tug your hair a little harder, staring at your feet like they were the most intriguing thing you’d ever seen. Then Sans steps forward and latches onto your free hand, oblivious to your surprise and shyness, and pulls you around to get into the car. You’re glad he lets go of your hand a second later, because you lock up when you get a good look at the car.

It’s a cherry red convertible, as gorgeous as the day it rolled out of the factory. It was an old model, sure, but it had clearly been restored with much love and attention. Even you, who really, _really_ didn’t like cars, had to appreciate this car. And aesthetically speaking, you did – but these cars were also known for being deathtraps. But you certainly wouldn’t mind having a few photos for reference, should you want to paint this car. But you didn’t like cars. And you would be riding in this thing all the way home. Welp. Your reluctance was winning out now, and it took all of your self-control not to yank out of Sans’ grip when he tried to pull you into the car, instead just planting your feet and refusing to move.

“Sans, Sans, _wait_ …” you hissed, still trying to resist pulling away from him. You didn’t want to hurt his feelings, after all. He was so nice and sweet, he didn’t deserve to have you lashing out at him for something that wasn’t his fault!

“WHAT’S WRONG, HUMAN? YOU’RE SUDDENLY VERY PALE!”

Oh, did you do that? Huh. You’d never known you paled in these situations. Maybe that’s why people would look at your face when you were about to get in a car and let you take your time getting in. They could read it in your face. Sans, however, was innocent and child-like, not understanding the problem.

“I…cars…make me nervous…I just…need a minute. Before I get in,” you replied, gritting you teeth slightly. Hearing this, Papyrus was quick to jump in and gently remove Sans’ hand from your arm.

“hey, no pressure. take your time, pal.”

You breathed a little easier without Sans tugging you towards the convertible, calming your nerves before inching your way closer. Once you finally worked up the courage to get in, you buckled up and sat stock still, every muscle tense and on high alert. You masked the flinch that came involuntarily when Papyrus shut your door and shut his own after getting behind the wheel, but every time he looked at you, it was like he was analyzing your every twitch and could see right through you.

Honestly, you kind of hated his piercing gaze, but besides avoiding looking at him, there was nothing you could do about it. Instead, you quietly gave him your address, hoping he would know where it was. Surprisingly, he did. But given that it was one of the few mansions in town out in the foothills of Mt. Ebott, you supposed he would know exactly where that area was. After all, when the monsters first came out of the mountain, they’d been confined to it, pending the reactions from the government. For a whole year, they had lived within driving or biking distance to your part of town. It was still a weird thought.

Sans chatted at you the whole ride, particularly once he realized where you lived, and though you made all the appropriate noises and gestures for it to seem like you were listening, you really weren’t. If he could tell, he didn’t show it, only quieting once your house came into view.

“WOWIE, HUMAN! YOU HAVE SUCH A BIG HOUSE!”

“Yeah…it’s…a bit much for just the three of us…”

“THREE OF YOU? THREE OF WHO?”

“Um…me and my family. There’s just three of us.”

“let me guess. you and some combination of parental units?”

“…no. No parents. Just me and my siblings,” you answered, your voice the softest they’d heard you yet. You didn’t see it, but Papyrus cringed at your answer, and it didn’t go unnoticed that that was also the clearest you’d spoken to them since they’d met you.

“you the oldest?”

“No. I’m the baby, actually.” There was a faint smile on your lips this time, thinking how lucky you were to have siblings like Jackson and Raya.

“Um…they’ll…want to meet you, you know. My siblings. They’ll wanna thank you for saving me…since I accidentally let it slip. They’re both really protective…so don’t think too harshly of them if they seem really cold. They’re just trying to make sure I’m safe. Comes with the territory…being the baby of the family. I guess. Anyway, just…brace yourselves.”

With that, you unbuckled and practically leapt out of the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post this chapter two days ago...oh well. I _did_ say the posting of this one would be erratic. Besides, shit happens. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed. -S
> 
> P.S. I think I underestimated the power of reader-insert fanfiction. I totally wasn't expecting how well received this was going to be, so I was downright giddy with how much attention this has gotten. Thanks so much for the support everyone. It means a lot.


	3. The Batman Episode

Yeah, your siblings were already home. Both their cars were in the driveway. How Raya managed that given the time of day was beyond you, but it wasn’t really the time to question that, was it? No, you were already standing a few feet from the car, grateful that the ride had been so uneventful, and that you were home safe and sound. It took a second of deep breaths to get yourself to relax enough that you could circle to the back of the convertible to fetch your bike and the groceries. It wasn’t a surprise that the trunk was already open by the time you got there. What was a surprise was that all the grocery bags were already floating in the air, and drifting lazily towards the door while Sans handled your bike, an irritated look on his face.

“PAPY! YOU’RE SO LAZY! AND IT’S A WASTE OF MAGIC FOR YOU TO BE LEVITATING THE HUMAN’S GROCERIES!”

“eh,” the tall skeleton replied, coming around where you could see him. His outstretched hand and one eye were both blazing bright orange, same as the aura that surrounded your groceries – same as the aura that had picked up and thrown that man that had been about to attack you before. Your breath caught in your throat and your eyes went wide, heart racing again. Papyrus was using his magic, and monster magic was something that always fascinated you. Then again, magic in general fascinated you. But seeing magic in action always excited you, and your shyness was all but forgotten as you watched him use his magic.

“Wow…” you breathed, before you even realized a sound had escaped you. Even the small sound, however, brought Papyrus’ gaze to meet yours, and when you realized how creepy your reaction to magic could be, you forced your gaze down and felt your cheeks heat for the umpteenth time today.

“S-sorry…” you mumbled shyly, fingers tangled in a lock of hair. You could still feel him watching you, however, so you shifted your attention to Sans.

“U-umm…I’ll just…grab the basket and stuff. I usually keep my bike in the garage,” you told the smaller skeleton, snagging the basket from the trunk and shutting it. You then lead him over to the garage and typed in the code to open the door, gesturing him in before you. Sans happily complied, then helped you put your bike back in its usual spot (you really couldn’t care less right now that it’s still folded), you dropping the basket next to the bike and leading him back out.

As soon as you step outside, however, you see Papyrus flying through the air, held by blue magic. You gape at him in shock at first, then whip your head towards what you knew you’d see – a very pissed off Raya using her blue magic to make Papyrus fly. And it’s clear he’s trying to do the same to her, but she’s not letting him concentrate on her long enough for it to work. And Jackson is standing there next to her and looking on coldly. And Sans looks shocked beside you, but he was also preparing some magic attacks of his own to defend his brother. And you know you have to stop this before something happens that everyone will regret.

“Stop it, stop it! Everyone just stop!” you scream, throwing yourself towards your sister and snapping her concentration. She drops the tall skeleton, but doesn’t stop with her magic. She’s still snarling and angry as hell.

“He’s an intruder, using magic on our property –”

“He’s _not_ an _intruder!_ And he didn’t know! I didn’t think to tell him not to use his magic! He’s one of the ones who saved me today, and if you want to repay his kindness with anger and violence, then…then I’ll stop you _myself!_ ”

All eyes were on you, but you didn’t care. The only set that mattered right now were Raya’s, her normally silver colored eyes tinted blue and purple with her magic. But slowly, they began to clear, and the silver coloring returned. You finally relaxed, dropping to sit on the ground for the second time today. Jackson was by your side instantly, but you waved him off quickly.

“I’m f-fine. Just…Jesus…”

Once he was sure you were actually fine, Jackson approached Papyrus with his usual stone-faced expression. His eyes – gray, like Raya’s, but more like steel than silver – were his tell, the hues more expressive than any other part of him. And right now, his eyes were apologetic.

“Please excuse my sister Raya. We’re both a bit on edge, since we didn’t know what happened to our sister. Thank you for saving her. I’m Jackson, but most people call me Jax. As I said, this is Raya. And you’ve already met ______. Again, thank you. ______, you still okay over there?”

“Yeah…” you sighed from where you still sat on the ground.

“yeah, ya know, she, uh, never mentioned that at least one of you is a _mage_. funny that that _little detail_ just happened to get bypassed, huh?”

“PAPY, STOP IT! I’M SURE THE HUMAN DIDN’T MEAN TO KEEP IT FROM US! SHE WAS STILL DISTRAUGHT AFTER THOSE OTHER HUMANS ATTACKED HER!”

“ _What?_ ” Jackson and Raya said at the same time, both whirling to face you. You cringed, casting a look over your shoulder.

“Um…we…we should…go inside to talk. And take the groceries in…”

This seems to at least break your siblings out of their stupor, both of them nodding. Jackson hesitates, then walks past you to pick up the bags that had been dropped at the door. Raya walks over to you and crouches next to you, gently helping you back to your feet.

“Can you stand, baby sis?” she asks, concern clear in her tone. You nod, fidgeting with your hair absent-mindedly. She smiles faintly, pulling your hand from your hair.

“Well, you can help us if you want. Groceries don’t put themselves up, you know. Well, okay, they do when I’m around,” she laughed at your expression, “but that’s beside the point. You can help if you’re feeling up to it. If you’re not, you do have options.”

You nodded, murmuring that you’d rather at least try to help. She smiles warmly, offering you her arm like a gentleman.

“Then shall we?”

You couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped, your shy walls slipping a little as you took her arm.

“We shall!” you declared, your voice clear and confident and ringing with happiness as you looped your arm through hers. Then you remembered the skeletal brothers behind you, and your timidity came back as you hesitated.

“Um, actually, you…go on ahead, Raya. I…should talk to the boys for a minute.”

“You sure, ______?”

You nod, making yourself flash her a smile, even if it looked more like a grimace when you did. She seemed to consider it, then nodded slowly, eyeing the boys carefully.

“Okay, then. You know where we’ll be. Just yell if you need something.”

You nod, instinctively wrapping your arms around yourself as you watched Raya head inside, glancing back at you until she can’t see you anymore. Only then do you steel yourself and turn back around. Sans and Papyrus are both watching you quietly, as if they aren’t sure what to do. You try to smile again, but you’re not sure it worked. Either way, you come a little closer to them, but maintained a safe distance.

“L-look, um…I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my family. I didn’t think…I wasn’t thinking. I…” you sighed, running a hand through your hair. “I-it usually doesn’t come up. But I should have put two and two together. The orange magic that…I should have realized that was you. But I didn’t. And Jax and Raya can both sense magic, so…I…I’m sorry. Um. Yeah. So. My family…we come from a line of mages. But for some reason, it’s only my siblings…that have magic, I mean. The-the gene…it only got passed to them. I don’t have it. So I’m not a mage.”

“how’s that possible, that you’re the younger sibling to two mages but you’re not one yourself?”

Papyrus’ tone is demanding and a touch irritated. You wince slightly. You know he has every right to be upset. After all, because of your carelessness, he was attacked by one of your siblings – after _saving your life_ , no less. And you knew that monsters tended to be pretty tense when it came to mages. When Alphys and Undyne found out, Alphys almost attacked all of you, starting with Jackson. You just hoped he wouldn’t take it out on you.

“Well, um…according to scientific studies since monsters returned to the surface…and what Jackson and Raya told me growing up…being a mage is a genetic thing. So it’s passed down from parent to child. And it’s totally random chance on if the kid gets the mage gene or not. Our parents both had the gene, but…even though Jax and Raya were born with the gene…I wasn’t. It’s…really complicated and confusing…and I don’t really know that much. Science is cool and all, but…it’s not my field. You’re better off asking my siblings, really…sorry…”

There was a tense pause, then Sans stepped forward with a bright smile, gently putting a hand on your arm.

“IT IS FINE, ______,” (Whoa, Sans was calling you by just your name? This must be serious!) “YOU MEANT US NO HARM BY WITHHOLDING THE INFORMATION, AS IT DID NOT SEEM PERTINENT AT THE TIME. AND YOU HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING PAPY WOULD USE HIS MAGIC ONCE WE GOT HERE, SO YOU COULDN’T HAVE WARNED US BEFOREHAND. I AM JUST GLAD THE SITUATION DIDN’T ESCALATE INTO SOMETHING MUCH WORSE! YOUR QUICK THINKING SAVED US AGAIN! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

With that, the little skeleton struck a heroic pose, his bandana fluttering in a non-existent wind and everything, and you had to restrain a smile and giggle at his antics. He sure made it hard to be down in the dumps about anything! And he was so sweet and understanding…your heart melted a little for the cute little cinnamon roll, and you could practically feel your walls beginning to crumble under his positivity.

“FURTHERMORE!” he continued, “I STILL DO NOT TOTALLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING SCIENTIFIC THAT MY BROTHER USED TO BE IN TO, SO I AM CONTENT KNOWING THERE IS A REASON BEHIND YOUR SIBLINGS BEING MAGES AND YOU NOT BEING ONE. EVEN IF I DO NOT TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THIS THING CALLED…’GENETICS’.”

“It’s okay. Most people don’t get genetics. I mean, they teach us a little of it in school, but…it’s really only enough to get by. Like, just the really important stuff. And most people forget it anyway.”

“OH. HUMANS SURE ARE STRANGE…”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” you answered with a soft giggle. Feeling like you were being watched (other than Sans looking at you), you glance over at Papyrus, who was giving you that piercing look again. You squirmed and fidgeted under his gaze, looking away as your defenses came right back up. Sans, you could get comfortable with in a hurry. Papyrus, not so much.

“Anyway, um…sorry again about the miscommunication. That…I’m sorry. Um. But now that they know…that you’re safe, I mean…Jax and Raya will wanna thank you. For saving me. And they’ll be careful with their magic from now on. They know it makes monsters uncomfortable. A-a-and, uh…they’ll…want you to…come inside…so we can talk. Um. So…please come in?” you finally finish, your voice almost cracking from how squeakily you’re speaking by the end. As grateful as you are to them, you desperately wanted to go hide in alone in your room for the next day or two, just to recover from the events of today.

And, much to your surprise, Papyrus finally relents and looks away from you, shrugging and walking towards the house.

“as long as we don’t have any more… _miscommunications_ …then it’ll be fine.”

Sans, stars in his big blue eyes again, bounced excitedly after his brother, leaving you standing behind both of them in surprise.

“YAY! WHAT A DAY THIS HAS BEEN! AND MAYBE WE’LL GET THREE NEW FRIENDS OUT OF IT, TOO! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

Well, the little cinnamon roll skeleton was right about one thing. It had been one hell of a day so far. …wait, wasn’t it still only the afternoon? Shit. You still had so much to do today…you quickly shake your head clear of your thoughts and follow the two inside.

Once inside, you shut the door behind you and made your way to the kitchen, where Jackson and Raya were waiting for you, already finished putting everything away. Oops. Took too long talking to them and getting to the point of asking them to join you inside. You shot you older siblings an apologetic look as you entered, one that they countered with patient smiles and a quick topic change.

“So, where do we wanna move this party to? Living room? Den? Elsewhere?”

You shrug, tense and tired and just wanting to have the day over with already. Jackson and Raya can see it, and they both give you sympathetic looks. Jackson is the first to move, waving to the two skeletons as he slips past all of you and out of the kitchen.

“Come on, guys. Den’s comfiest. This way.”

As the boys’ footsteps fade with the distance, Raya steps up to you again and tilts her head questioningly, her dark hair falling over her shoulder as she does.

“I’m okay, Ray-ray,” you sigh, using your childhood nickname for her. (Yes! There’s the smile you were hoping for!) “I’m just exhausted. So much happened today, and…and it’s only, like, two-thirty! God, I’m just…I _so_ wanna just go to bed and not wake up for a day or two, you know?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you’re beat. This much interaction with strangers is hard on you, I know. Well, hey…Jax and I can handle these guys for now if you wanna just head upstairs. I’ll tell them you’re not feeling well – ‘s not _that_ far from the truth.”

You open your mouth to refuse the offer, about to argue that it’d be better if you were there. Even if it was just your presence in the room, you should be there in case something else happens between your siblings and the monsters who saved you. But as you go to voice this, a wave of exhaustion crashes over you, and you hesitate. Then you sigh, debating with yourself how committed to the idea you are. But as you stand there thinking about it, you and Raya both standing in the hall connecting the den, kitchen, living room, and stairs, you feel eyes on you again. You shiver a little and force yourself to not look down the hall at Papyrus (because who else could it be at this point?) and sigh again.

“Actually, I’d really appreciate that,” you finally answered, dropping you voice without even meaning to. “I…I hate just ditching like this. It seems really ungrateful to them, but…I just don’t know how much more I can handle today.”

Raya had looked down the hall and scowled at Papyrus, but she now turned her attention back to you and nodded. Yeah…as nonchalant as Papyrus had tried to seem about it, you both knew he was eavesdropping. Raya knew because…well, she just knew. There were times when the only explanation was magic, or that it was an older sibling thing. You couldn’t tell which it was right now (and frankly, you didn’t care), and ended up letting it go. You, however, knew the tall skeleton was eavesdropping because you’d seen it before. Your siblings, your friends (on occasion), the other kids who’d been in the foster homes or orphanage…you knew what someone committing espionage looked like, and Papyrus was not as sneaky as he thought he was right then. And given everything else today, you’d meant what you’d said. You weren’t sure how much more of that suspicious, piercing look you could take from him.

“We’ve got you covered, sis. Just head on upstairs and get some rest. I’ll bring up some food for you later.”

A red flag went off in your head as Raya said that, but you were too tired to care right now. Instead, you just nodded numbly and turned, heading towards the stairs. With the skeletons and your siblings otherwise occupied, you knew you were safe to do whatever the fuck you needed to do to chill out…which for now, meant heading to your recording room and making a quick video about today’s events throwing off your posting schedule. You hated missing posting your regular videos, but you just didn’t have the energy for much else today.

Once you shut the door to your recording room, you started getting everything set up to record one of your rare non-gaming videos, refusing to let yourself relax just yet. You just had to get this recorded, edit it a little, then post it. _Then_ you could relax. And with everything set up, you plastered on a smile for your camera and hit record.

“What’s up guys? FoxyNerd here. And if my intro seems a little lackluster today, that’s because I had some scary shit go down earlier. I’m not gonna go into the details of it now because I’m tired A-F, and that’d make this video _way_ too long. But here’s the long and short of it: I was on my way home from the store and had a bit of scariness happen. Then it just got worse because my dumb ass…I have no sense of direction, and got lost trying to get home after I deviated from my usual route. Whoops. Uh, anyway, so the real scariness happened after I got lost, and…as you guys know, my channel is very pro-monster. And while I’ve never needed a reason to be pro-monster, after today, I would undoubtedly have one if I did. Reason I bring this up: I owe a big, huge, _monumental_ thank you to the two monster dudes that stepped in to help me. My life was legitimately in danger today, and if not for them, I don’t think I’d be sitting here recording this for you guys. And if you two are watching – I won’t give out details about you guys to protect your privacy, but you know who you are. I have no words to express the depth of my gratitude, and all I can say is thank you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for saving my life today.

“So, uh, on to the actual PSA part. Yeah, after today…I’m tired and need a break. So, my plan on that front. I will be taking the rest of today to rest up and recover from the emotional trauma of…that scary fun stuff I mentioned. So that means no other videos today, and I won’t be working on commissions – physical or digital. But fret not, my darling little Foxy-Fans! It’s hard to keep a good nerd down. So, knowing I will _for sure_ be feeling at least somewhat better by tomorrow, I will return with my regular art, submissions, commissions, and social media posts. If I’m not up to videos tomorrow, then expect your daily dose of FoxyNerd-y love by the day after at the latest.

“With all that said, I will recap for anyone who needs it. So, scary things happened today, and while I am physically fine, I do need to take a bit of time to recover mentally and emotionally. Nothing else going on today, but expect my usual commissions back by tomorrow, and videos by the day after at the absolute latest. And again, a huge shout-out to the monster guys that saved my bacon today. You know who you are. Thank you. Now, if you lovelies will excuse me, this little fox needs a nap. I hope you all have a better day than I did, and I will see you all very soon. This is your lady and queen, FoxyNerd, signing out.”

…phew! Well, that wasn’t as bad as you were thinking it would be. And hell, doing you intro and outro had ended up bringing a genuine smile to your face, making you feel the tiniest bit better already. With a small, extremely tired smile, you turn around in your chair (spiny, roll-y chairs were the best!) and roll yourself over to the door to your recording room. Once open, you rolled back to your desk, swiveling to face your equipment again and slipping on your headphones. You didn’t need them if you weren’t gaming, but it was nice to have them on when you were editing. It let you pick up on subtle sounds you wouldn’t have otherwise noticed, and you could fix them accordingly. At least editing this video wouldn’t take as long as it usually did. Just clip a little awkwardness here, bridge a particularly long pause there…debate on throwing in the animated intro and outro you’d made and updated yourself…nah, this video was a more personal one. You didn’t need the intro and outro this time. No need to make it one of your super official regular videos.

A few minutes later, your finished product was in the process of being posted on your channel, and right as you pulled the headphones off, you were suddenly tackle-hugged. This got a shriek of surprise and fear from you, dropping your headphones as you and your “attacker” rolled across the room from the force of their tackle. Pale and a little shaken, you glance at who still had their arms wrapped around you, even after that awful banshee-screech you made…and saw a very worried looking Sans clinging to your side over the arm of your chair.

“HUMAN! YOUR SISTER TOLD US YOU WERE NOT FEELING WELL AND HAD COME UPSTAIRS TO REST! BUT YOU KEPT SAYING YOU WERE FINE EARLIER, AND…”

Oh, bless him, he really _was_ worried. He actually looked like he was going to start crying. You could actually see the tears starting to form at the edges of his eye sockets. Your mind’s eye imagined those tears falling, and nope, your heart just couldn’t take the idea. You quickly give him a gentle smile and relaxed a little in his arms, hoping your body language would be better at communicating that you were okay to him than your words would be. He seemed the worrying type, bless him. (Precious darling little cinnamon roll – you just couldn’t help thinking it.)

“I’m okay, Sans. I’m just really tired. See, I kind of…I’m…” you sigh, trying to find the right words to explain, like you would a child. “I’m very, very shy. I have a hard time talking to and being around…new people. Going to the store earlier wasn’t so bad, because I’ve done it before, and I didn’t have to talk to many people. But everything that happened on my way home was…new and scary and draining. So really, I’m okay. I’m just emotionally worn out right now. But I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”

You conclude your explanation with a warm and reassuring smile, gently pulling an arm free so you could wrap it around him as well and rub the top of his skull soothingly. He seems placated by your answer, as his grip relaxes, and his usual smile is back. He still looks concerned for you, but better than it was just moments ago, and the tears vanish from the edges of his eye sockets.

“OH. THAT MAKES SENSE. BEING AROUND ME AND PAPY MUST BE TIRING FOR YOU, THEN! DON’T WORRY, WE’LL BE LEAVING SOON. BUT I AM GLAD IT’S NOT SOMETHING MORE SERIOUS! THAT REMINDS ME! WE HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS SHY LIKE THAT. PERHAPS YOU COULD MEET HER SOMETIME! THEN YOU COULD BE SHY TOGETHER! OH, AND SPEAKING OF FRIENDS, COULD WE…BE YOURS?”

Normally you were more hesitant and reserved than this, but…oh, to hell with it. How could you say no when he was looking at you with those big puppy-dog eyes of his? Were you gonna be the one to break his heart? Hell no! In a moment where you literally just couldn’t help yourself, you spun your chair enough that you had a clear shot, then launched at him, wrapping Sans in a big, cuddly, affectionate hug that you usually reserved for your siblings and Undyne. (You would give one to Alphys, too, but…you weren’t to that stage of friendship with the reptilian woman yet. And yeah, you hugged your cat like that too, but that hardly counted.)

“Of course you can, you sweet and cute little darling, you!” you cooed, nuzzling your cheek to the top of his skull happily. His little squeak of surprise at your sudden action was the cutest fucking thing! Goddamn, he really was just too much!

Then he squirmed in your arms, and your common sense came back to you in a rush, you practically leaping back into your chair, cheeks on fire.

“I-I, um, god, I’m sorry! I…yes, I’d love to be f-friends with you, Sans. Sorry, I just…got over excited…I don’t normally do that, I swear…”

Sans himself was still rather flustered, his cheekbones glowing a bright baby blue – his version of a blush, perhaps? – but he seemed pleased you’d accepted…if less enthusiastic about it than he’d normally react from your sudden hug.

“WONDERFUL, HUMAN! THOUGH I AM _NOT_ CUTE, I WILL STILL ACCEPT YOUR FRIENDSHIP! AND NOW YOU CAN BRAG THAT YOU ARE FRIENDS WITH ME, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS! MWEH-HEH-HEH!!”

You giggled gleefully, then pulled out your phone and traded yours for his so you could swap contact info. Then, in a burst of inspiration when you get your phone back, you pull him close and angled the phone, snapping a selfie with the grinning skelly and texting it to him.

“Now we’ll have matching contact photos for each other!”

“WHAT A GREAT IDEA, HUMAN! I SHALL HAVE TO DO THE SAME WITH YOUR SIBLINGS! AND YOU SHOULD DO IT WITH MY BROTHER! THEN WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS AND HAVE WONDERFUL PICTURES TOGETHER!”

You blush and giggle, trying to imagine even standing next to the tall skeleton with the amount of friendliness you already had with his brother, let alone trying to get a good picture of the two of you together. What has you trying to contain your laughter even more is when Sans shoots you his signature (you’d realized by now) starry-eyed grin and dashes out of the room, clearly on a mission to do exactly as he’d said he would.

And standing there in the doorway were both of your siblings and Papyrus. You instantly flushed, shrinking in your chair and fidgeting with your hair. From the hushed way your siblings were speaking, you could tell they were trying to draw Sans away from your recording room, but they were equally as enamored with the little skelly as you were. Papyrus, however, stayed leaning casually in the doorway, watching you. And damn him if the silence stretching between you wasn’t more awkward than anything else that’d happened today! And more frustrating when you realized he was probably doing it on purpose. But before you could work up the courage to say something, _anything_ , to him –

“look, kid. i’m sorry for being such an ass earlier. your siblings explained the mage gene thing a little better, and now…well, sorry.”

You looked up at him in surprise, your blush fading a bit. Well, damn if that slightly guilty look and the way he was scuffing his shoe across the floor awkwardly didn’t make you feel a lot better, suddenly. And actually, now that you got a better look at him…he was actually kind of cute. Not in the cute-and-sweet-like-marshmallow-fluff kind of cute that Sans was, but a rather attractive kind of cute. This got your heart beating a little faster, bringing back your blush. Of course you’d notice something like that. How weird _were_ you?!

“It’s okay…” you said, your voice a whisper. You had to clear your throat and try again a little louder. “It’s okay. Like I said, they would know better than I would…”

Papyrus nodded, his eyes seeming to really take in the room now. Rather than ask, though, he looked back at you, his expression one of interest veiled by his typical lazy look. Secretive type, huh? Well, you could handle that.

“so. thanks for being cool with my bro. most humans don’t know how to handle his energy and enthusiasm. and since you’re friends now…guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. something i don’t get, though. you said you’re really shy, but with him, you’re mostly fine, even though you just met today. what’s up with that?”

“Oh. Well…I don’t know. Normally I’m much shyer and more reserved, but…he’s just so…” you giggle, even though you can’t find a good word for Sans. “It’s like he knows how to break down my walls without even trying. Kids have the same effect on me, actually. And he’s a lot like a kid, now that I think about it. So I guess that has a lot to do with it. But, um…I…sorry I’m…that I’m not…”

Papyrus seems to understand what you’re struggling to say and smiles, crossing the room in a few strides. You glance up in alarm, not sure what he’s going to do…until he reaches out and ruffles your hair. You reward him with a scrunched up face and an annoyed glare, only to catch him taking your picture. You blush again and try to hide as he chuckles.

“don’t worry about it, kiddo. i’m not expecting you to be just as open with me as you are sans. these things take time. i’m cool with that. hell, the friend he was talking about that’s shy, too? she’s exactly like you. and she’s only so comfortable around me because we’ve known each other a long time. so i get it. take whatever time you need to, kiddo. i can wait.”

You stared up at him, caught off guard by his words. For as uncomfortable as he generally made you, Papyrus was so chill and nice…but you had to suppress the shiver that crawled up your spine at the last sentence. It felt like there was more meaning there, like there was something you were missing as he said it – a little like when you were trying to translate something in another language, and some of the meaning was lost because one language or the other didn’t have the words to express what you were trying to say. And that feeling of something missing was going to bug the hell out of you, you just knew it, dammit. It was already starting to bug you –

But he was already turning away by the time you opened your mouth to ask.

“O-okay. Thanks,” you murmured lamely at his back instead. He turned back at the doorway and smirked at you before he left.

Why was your heart beating so fast at that? Why was it bugging you so bad about what he’d said? Why did you have the feeling you’d be thinking about him the rest of the day as the first two questions chased each other around your skull? Ugh, dammit, and damn him, you hated this feeling of missing something. Something clearly he knew, and wasn’t sharing. Ugh. Whatever. You shoved the feelings aside and rolled back over to your desk, jiggling your mouse to wake the screen back up. Oh, good! The video already posted! You loved having fast internet.

That done, you finally got up from the chair and shut everything down, only then sweeping the room for your cat. You definitely didn’t need Zephyr getting in here and chewing on cords or getting tangled in them or knocking something over or lord-knows-what-else. So, once making sure the room was cat-less, you switched off the lights and closed the door behind you, making your way to your room. Time for that nap you promised yourself earlier. Or should you wait and say goodbye to –

Again you were blindsided, but this time, you recognized the bony arms wrapping around you before the scream building in your throat could get its chance. It didn’t stop you from going rigid and gasping as the two of you teetered there in the hallway for a second, almost falling over.

“WE’RE LEAVING NOW, HUMAN! BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO GO WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE FIRST!” Sans exclaimed, looking up at you with stars in his eyes. (Yes, up. Again, you were a little less than a head taller than him when standing. And you were pretty short. No, excuse you, you were _petite_. Whatever.) A smile worked its way onto your face as you relaxed, doing your best to hug the skeleton back.

“Okay. Thank you again for everything, Sans. I hope we can hang out sometime soon!”

“SO DO I, HUMAN! I MEAN…FRIEND.”

You giggled at the sheepish way he said it and nuzzled your cheek against his head again affectionately.

“Don’t worry over what to call me, Sans. Whatever makes you comfortable is fine by me.”

This seemed to be the exact right thing to say, and Sans’ face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he hugged you so hard, he was lifting you up off the ground. You laughed and clung to him, blushing fiercely. Even though it was a bit too hard, you still loved it. He was such a sweet and affectionate little guy! (Just like you, one of your sibling’s voices echoed in the back of your mind, knowing what they’d say if they saw this and heard your thoughts. You kindly told the voice to shut the fuck up.)

“THAT’S VERY KIND OF YOU, HUMAN! THANK YOU!” he finally cheered once he put you down. You had a bit of a manic grin on yourself, but you couldn’t help it. That hug had left you breathless and rosy-cheeked, both from the force of it and your laughter.

“Of course, Sans. It’s been wonderful to meet you and become your friend. And please tell Papyrus thank you again for me.”

“OF COURSE! I SHOULDN’T KEEP HIM WAITING! GOODBYE, HUMAN! FEEL BETTER TOMORROW!”

“I will. Bye, Sans.”

With that, he waved to you and rushed to the stairs, taking them far faster than you thought was safe, but his energy couldn’t be denied. And man, did his voice carry. You couldn’t make out the words, but you could hear him talking to someone as he headed for the front door, Papyrus no doubt in tow. You went to the railing with a smile, waiting for them to see you as they left to wave. They both waved back, Papyrus somehow making the motion seem lazy. Then they were gone, and Jackson was climbing the stairs to talk to you. You loved your brother, but…you weren’t ready for the conversation he wanted to have right now.

“______ –”

“Not now, Jax. I’m tired, and I’m gonna head to bed. I already posted a video explaining why the lack of videos today, and the one commission I worked on should be dry by now on the easel in…one of the upstairs painting rooms,” you sighed, too tired to try and remember which one. “It’s of a cat sleeping in a window. Can’t miss it. I know you have to head back to work now, so I’ll see you…tonight? Tomorrow? I don’t know. I’m sorry, I just…”

“I know, ______. The skeleton brothers told us what happened, and what you told them about how you ended up on their side of town. You’re wiped, so go ahead and get some rest. I do have to head back, but Raya’s staying, and I’ll look in on you when I get home tonight, ‘kay?”

You nodded, sliding a hand through your hair. Jackson stares at you for a second, and you can guess what he wants, but he knows better than to ask when you’re this tired. So he just pecks you on the forehead (a rarity, since he doesn’t really display affection much) before heading back downstairs and out the door, shouting goodbye to Raya.

God, what a day. You’re glad when you can turn and head back to your room, leaving the door open for when Raya comes to check on you (you know she will; she said something about bringing food) and so your cat can come in if he wants. But you don’t have to worry about him – Zephyr is already curled up on one of your pillows, raising his head to look at you as you enter. You give him a tiny smile and a gentle scratch on the top of his head, which he rewards with a deeply contented purr.

“Hey, Zeph. I know, I was gone for a while. It’s been a long day.”

He seems to understand, so after you’ve stripped your hoodie, socks, and shoes, he actually gets up and head-butts your side gently from where you sat down on the bed. You scoop him up in your arms, which he allows this time, just like this morning, and you bury your nose in his fur. (You’d bury your face against him, but you still have your glasses on, dammit.) And you just stay like that, nose pressed against him gently while he purrs in your arms, until you finally feel whatever it was that had kept you going through it all finally loosen and unwind, pulling a sob from you.

Of course this is when Raya comes in, but rather than ask what’s wrong and freak out, she just sets down the plate of food she made for you on what surface space there is on your dresser and sits down with you. Like the good big sister she is, she already knows what’s wrong, and all she does is wrap an arm around your shoulders and wipe your tears as you cry. And once you’re done, she just kisses your cheek with a smile and rubs your back, waiting until you look over at her to nod to the food. A silent question for if you want to eat, or a suggestion you should. Either way, you shake your head, having no appetite right now and not being hungry anyway from the Nice Cream the brothers had given you at their house. She frowns slightly (more the suggestion than the question, then), but nods, accepting your choice.

She then gestures with her eyes to the food again, then down to the floor. Did you want the food to stay here in case you wanted it later? You shook your head again, and she nodded in understanding. She then locked eyes with you and held it for a second, then glanced towards the floor again. Did you want her to stay? You hesitate, but shake your head. No, you wanted to sleep, and Raya was far too active a person to be comfortable laying down with you until you passed out. She sighs softly, then nods again. Not even hesitating this time, she flicked her gaze to Zephyr, then back to you. Did you want him here? You hesitate, then shrug. The gray tabby can come and go as he pleases. Raya nods one last time, then gives you a gentle pat on the back before pecking your cheek again and getting up, taking the plate of food with her as she leaves.

You loved both of your siblings, but you were always closer to Raya than Jackson. You wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that she was closer to your age than Jackson was, but thought not. When the three of you had been orphaned, Jackson had been the one to raise you…but it was Raya that kept the three of you from getting separated, whether that meant by outside forces, or because of each other. She had been the rock of the family, the anchor that kept you all from scattering to the wind when things seemed unbearable. So scenes like that between you and her or her and Jackson weren’t uncommon. She knew you better than you knew yourselves sometimes, and so she knew about all the times that even the softest whisper was far too loud. And she knew exactly what to do when those times came, handling these situations like a pro. Hell, you were sure if she wanted to, she _could_ be a pro, having handled you for so long. Raya certainly had the skill to be a good psychiatrist, that’s for sure. But for now, she preferred to stay a waitress. And as a twenty-six year old adult, that was her right. So you didn’t question it.

Instead, you sighed and finally put Zephyr on the ground, getting up to close the door long enough to change into pajamas, then opening it again so your cat could leave if he wanted. Damn, what a day. What a disastrous, crazy, hectic, terrifying, awful –

**_SANS:_ ** _HELLO, NEW HUMAN FRIEND! IT WAS WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU TODAY! AND I’M GLAD THAT WE COULD BE FRIENDS! I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN WHEN IT IS LESS STRESSFUL FOR YOU TO SEE US! UNTIL THEN, FEEL BETTER!_

**_Unknown:_ ** _hey. this is papyrus. got your number from sans. doing any better?_

You smiled, warmed a little by their texts. After saving Papyrus’ number and changing Sans’ name in your phone, you text them back.

**_You:_ ** _Hey, Sans. It was gr8 2 meet u, 2. I look forward 2 cing u again, 2. Txt u when I’m feeling up 2 a hang out._

**_You:_ ** _Ah. & here I was worried u were sum creepy stalker dude, lol. Um, I guess a little? But I’ll b better after I get sum R&R. Prob b asleep 4 a while, so don’t worry if I don’t answer. Bsides, big sis is home w/ me, so I’ll b ok. Thnx 4 checking in, tho._

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _YOU HAVE A VERY STRANGE WAY OF TEXTING, HUMAN! BUT I WILL ATTEMPT TO LEARN TO DECIPHER YOUR MESSAGES SO THAT WE MAY BE EVEN CLOSER FRIENDS! AND THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA! NOW GET SOME REST! THAT’S AN ORDER!_

You have to chuckle at that. You guessed text speech wasn’t common for him, but if he was willing to learn for you, then that made him all the sweeter. And it was funny that he gave you an order, since you generally didn’t do well when people bossed you around. But coming from him, you could assume it was just his was way of saying he cared, so you let it slide. (And yes, his contact was now a Batman reference. You’d always liked Robin, and it was cute, so why not?)

**_Skeletor:_ ** _heh. you’re funny. and really? you text like a teenager. what are you, fifteen? anyway, that’s good. wouldn’t want something to happen to my bro’s new friend, after all. he’s already pretty attached to you._

You snort at his text, partially indignant, partially amused. (Yes, you’d picked Skeletor from _He-Man_. You didn’t have a lot of options on this one.)

**_You:_ ** _Sir yes sir, lol._

**_You:_ ** _Glad u think so. & fyi, I’m 21, thank u very much! But yeah. He’s pretty sweet like that. U sure he’s the only 1 getting attached? ;)_

You tack on the last bit and send it before you can think about it and instantly regret it. You hadn’t meant to flirt with him! Shit! Now he was going to think you were weird as hell, sending him mixed signals! You start to type again, thinking if you’re fast enough, you can salvage this.

**_You:_ ** _That was prob weird, sry. Wasn’t thinking. Again. Sry. I was jk anyway. Um. I’m an awkward shit that doesn’t kno how 2 talk 2 other ppl like a normal person. Sry. Just ignore me._

When he didn’t text you back right away, your heart sank. Yeah, you had made it weird. Dammit. You’d been afraid of that. Oh well. He seemed to have some mixed feelings about you, anyway, so what was this on top of everything else? Still, though…you somehow wound up with at least one new friend. So you repeat: what a day. What a disastrous, crazy, hectic, terrifying, awful…nice, not-so-bad day.

You ended up falling asleep after thinking that, your rest blissfully dreamless.


	4. The He-Man Episode

When you woke up the first time, it was the middle of the night. You ended up wandering downstairs to get food (dammit, Raya had been right – you should have eaten earlier) and found that the plate from earlier was all wrapped up for you in the fridge. You had to smile to yourself, grabbing the plate and reheating it quickly, checking Zephyr’s food and water while you were at it. Aww, you had the best siblings – they already took care of your cat while you were sleeping! The microwave chimed merrily, signaling your food was ready, and you snagged it, electing to sit at the kitchen island and eat rather than drag the plate upstairs.

“Hey Zeph. No, you can’t have any. Beggar,” you chastised when your cat jumped up on the island to join you. He meowed pitifully, but you still shooed him away with your other hand, making sure you didn’t get cat hair in your food. (Some people were fine with that sort of thing. You loved your cat, but…you were not one of them.)

You thought about checking your phone while you ate, but realized you left it upstairs. Whoops. Oh well. It meant you weren’t distracted from keeping Zephyr out of your food, naughty kitty!

Once you were finished eating, you washed off the plate and stuck it in the dishwasher before heading back upstairs. You paused on the top of the landing, debating about going to your recording room and editing the video you’d already made of _Amnesia: The Dark Descent_ …or maybe you’d just go record an episode of _Deadpool_ instead – that was the other game you’d been working on recently, and even though you only had two videos on the game so far, it was one of your favorite series. Eventually, though, you realized you were still tired and decided to do neither, in favor of going back to bed.

Your sleep was less than peaceful this time, more of dozing off and on rather than actual sleeping, so when Zephyr pawed at your face at five-thirty to be fed, you were tempted to throw him at the wall. (Not that you actually would – the thought of hurting someone else horrified you, for crying out loud – but the temptation was there.) You did end up getting up and feeding your cat, and making your usual tea to wake up with, much to Jackson’s surprise.

“Thought for sure we’d miss you this morning,” Jackson smiled, giving your arm and affectionate and supportive squeeze. “Well, _I’d_ miss you.”

You frowned, and not because you were grumpy from the ungodly hour you found yourself awake at.

“What about Raya?” tumbled past your lips as all the red flags you’d missed yesterday starting waving in your face anew. Jackson frowned.

“Yeah, you kinda missed the explanation last night. So Raya’s boss wasn’t willing to let her leave work yesterday and threatened to fire her if she just walked out, no matter what her excuse was. She told him he didn’t have to fire her – she quit. So now, she’s gotta go job hunting again. But I think she’s just gonna enjoy sleeping in this morning.”

Jackson chuckled, oblivious to the guilt burning in your gut. Raya had hated that job since the day she realized her employers were bigoted towards monsters, but…it was still a job, and the one she’d had since high school. She didn’t really have any other experience. None of you had bothered going to college – Jackson had found his calling without needing to and didn’t have the time. Raya just hadn’t wanted to, and you…the thought of being around so many other people all day made you sick. You’d sworn off that sort of thing when you graduated high school. And now, Raya had quit the only job she’d known because they wouldn’t let her come home to make sure you were okay after yesterday’s fiasco. You felt like crying and throwing up and running and hiding in your bedroom and never coming out again for the rest of eternity. Finally, Jackson seemed to notice your too-silent state.

“Hey…don’t beat yourself up about Raya quitting, ______. It’s not your fault. She’s an adult, and she made an adult decision that had nothing to do with you.”

“It had _everything_ to do with me, Jax!” you yelled, tears flooding your vision. “If I hadn’t gotten lost, I wouldn’t have been attacked! And if I hadn’t been attacked, you and Raya wouldn’t have had to leave work to check on me, then Raya wouldn’t have quit!”

“Not true,” Jackson fired back, grabbing your shoulders. “Hey. ______. Look at me. _Look at me_. That’s not true. We both knew Raya was gonna leave that place eventually. At this point, it was only a matter of time. She’s been looking for a good excuse for a while to quit. What happened yesterday was just the kick in the ass she needed to finally do it. She hated being there. We both knew that. Her quitting was going to happen whether or not you had been attacked. So _do not. Blame yourself. For her quitting. Her job._ That’s entirely on her. Okay?”

You sniffed and curled up against his chest, letting his shirt absorb your tears. You knew he was right. Hell, you’d all talked about it that same morning! But the guilt wouldn’t leave you alone. You certainly didn’t feel as bad about it as you did before, though. Maybe you wouldn’t hide for all eternity, then.

“Thanks, Jax,” you whispered against him. You could feel him sigh slightly, but he continued to rub soothing circles across your back. When you glanced up at his face, he was smiling down at you, and only then did he move to peck you on the forehead.

“Got up a little late this morning,” he said softly when he pulled away to look at you, “so I gotta go get ready. You gonna be okay til Ray-ray gets up?”

You smiled at the use of the old nickname, then nodded. Jackson smiled once more and gave your arm a supportive squeeze before starting towards the doorway. Or trying. Jackson swore loudly when he tripped and almost fell over Zephyr winding his way between your brother’s legs. You started cracking up, and even though Jackson shot you a scowl and muttered about your “damn little hell beast trying to kill everyone”, he was smiling a little, which just made you grin.

After you saw Jackson off, you headed back up to your room to decide what to do for the day. Once you got settled on your bed, however, you noticed the notification light blinking on your phone. How long had it been doing that? Setting down your mug of tea, you grab your phone and unlock it, opening it up to your texts. The first one you checked was from Undyne, sent a few hours after you’d posted your video yesterday.

**_Aqua Lass:_ ** _Hey! Saw your video this afternoon! Hope you start feeling better soon. Maybe make some monster food to help you recover sooner. Or maybe Alphys and I could come make something for you? …on second thought, maybe just me. Alphys is the best – but not at cooking. Don’t tell her I said that! Besides, seemed like you could use some bestie-time._

Bless that sweet, nerdy little fish woman (who used far too many emojis). Seeing Undyne did sound like a good idea, even if you were still a bit tired. Besides, you felt bad for not seeing her text for so long. And she was right – Alphys really wasn’t a great cook. But Undyne made some of the best Japanese candies and dishes that had ever crossed your lips. Yeah, having her over was sounding better and better. You smiled and answered her before checking the second text.

**_You:_ ** _Morning, Unnie! Sry I never answered yesterday – passed out shortly after making that vid. Slept til really l8 last nite. Got up 2 eat, went back 2 bed, & slept like shit. :/ I’m feeling better now that I’ve slept & had my morning t, but sum bestie-time & monster food sounds like the best medicine rn. U gonna b able 2 get off work on such short notice?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _you’re fine. not the weirdest thing i’ve had happen. by a long shot. and you sure you’re not the skeleton here? heh. but seriously, you’re okay. you don’t have to apologize so much. as for ignoring you…why would i want to do that? besides, kind of hard to do when i follow you…FoxyNerd._

You were shaking by the time you finished reading his text. First was relief that you hadn’t made it weird after all. Then a silly snort at the skeleton comment – yeah, you could be a real numbskull sometimes (you’d have to remember that to use on him, puny jerk-face), but you weren’t _that_ bad. Still, you knew he was just joking around, so you didn’t take offense. Finally, you’re heart fluttered happily when he said he didn’t want to ignore you…then dropped when you saw the following sentence. Shit. _Shit._ How did he find out? How did he know? Yeah, you’d been in your recording room when they’d found you yesterday, but he didn’t seem to recognize it then. Or, if he had, he’d hidden it extremely well and just not mentioned it at the time. Although why he hadn’t was beyond you. By all means, he probably would have said something sooner if he’d known…which lead you to believe he didn’t figure out who you were until later. So how? Did someone tell him? God, you were about to have a full-blown attack at this rate!

It took a lot of willpower to make your shaking fingers tap out an answer instead of throw the object of your anxiety against the wall.

**_You:_ ** _I have comments about the rest of wat you said, but 1 st…how did u kno?? When did u find out?? I…I’m kinda freaking out over here, so u kno, let me kno. When u can. Like, soon, preferably._

Finally done with that, you tossed your phone onto your pillows away from you. You wanted nothing to do with it until Undyne answered you. So, hands still shaking, you take a few sips of your tea to calm your nerves. It was okay. Everything was okay. The media hadn’t descended upon you and your siblings (yet), and you hadn’t seen any fans or anything when you were outside with Jackson earlier. But you’d have to warn your siblings that he knew. Just in case. After all, it was fine that Undyne and Alphys knew you were the YouTuber FoxyNerd – they both proved they knew how to keep their mouths shut – but Papyrus was uncharted territory. Oh, shit. You’d probably have to warn Undyne of the impending danger as well…then Alphys would insist on moving all of you elsewhere, or at least sticking around to protect you. And you could only handle the energetic reptilian woman in small doses. Having her move in to one of the many spare rooms you had in the house was _not_ going to be ideal.

“You have a text message,” the eleventh _Doctor Who_ Doctor, Matt Smith, called from your pillows. “Text messages are cool.”

“Not right now, they aren’t,” you mutter under your breath in response, putting your drink aside to reach for your phone.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _okay, honestly wasn’t expecting you to freak. the only reason i even said anything is because i’m a fan. don’t know how i didn’t recognize you until i saw your vid last night about the posting schedule change, but…yeah. look, i’m not gonna treat ya any different just because you’re famous, okay? and if you’re worried about me telling anyone, don’t be. you respected our privacy by not revealing our identities. it’d be pretty shitty of me to not do the same for you, don’t ya think? sorry if i scared ya._

Well, color you surprised. Papyrus was a fan of yours? While he had just admitted that he didn’t recognize you right away, you were at least happy to see that he wasn’t one of the crazy ones. You’d heard all the horror stories about the crazy ones. You wanted no part of that, so you were extremely careful about mentioning people or places in your videos. Even when it came to general locations, you tried to be careful. So far, you’d been lucky on that front.

But still, back to Papyrus. The tall skeleton had apparently been thrown off from recognizing you, somehow…until he saw yesterday’s video, of course. Then he’d put two and two together. Even though he said he wasn’t going to tell anyone or treat you differently, you were still worried. Undyne had gone into your friendship knowing you were FoxyNerd, and she had been great about keeping your secret. Heck, after the first time you talked, she didn’t treat you any differently than she would have any other friend. Alphys had to be convinced to keep quiet about it, but once she knew why you were keeping it on the down-low, trying to get it out of her would be like trying to get something out of Fort Knox. Short of actually hurting and torturing her, your siblings had tested her on it. She’d held firm the whole time, even taunting them about how much she could take and still not crack. So you knew for a fact that the two monster women could be trusted. But Papyrus was still a big question mark. You’d only just met him, after all. And you didn’t know what it would take for him to spill now that he knew.

You weren’t sure if you should answer him now, but decided to text Undyne again. You really, _really_ wanted her here now.

**_You:_ ** _Plz call me when u c this. I’m kinda freaking & I could definitely 100% use that bestie-time now._

Short of calling her yourself (which, if she was at work by now, simply wouldn’t do), you couldn’t think of a better way to get her attention. You asking for a phone call instead of a text was a big deal, so you were sure to get a call the second she saw the text. But now you had to debate about answering that skeleton again…finally you drew in a breath and began to type.

**_You:_ ** _Sry. Just…not many ppl kno, & I gotta b careful about the 1s that do. Esp fans. & I’m not…SUPER worried about u treating me differently. I just…I was more worried about the identity thing. Like I said, gotta b careful 4 the ppl who do kno, ya kno? But, um, being real here, I hope meeting me in person wasn’t 2 disappointing._

So far, Undyne was the only fan you’d met in person, so you had no real frame of reference as to what you were supposed to do or how you were supposed to act in regards to fans. Yet another thing to talk to your bestie about when she got here. Speaking of, that was her ringtone – the intro song for the first _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_. What else would you set her ringtone to? The girl was more obsessed with anime than you were (by a long shot), and _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie_ was her favorite. You smiled as you answered the phone.

“Hey Unnie, honey,” you chirped, relieved she called.

“__-______! What’s going on? You n-never ask for a call!” (Bless her. She had never quite managed to kick her stutter, even around you, but it was significantly better than it used to be.)

“Oh, not much. Just, um…another fan found out who I am. Like, not having a super freak out or anything, but…I’d rather talk about it in person.”

“Oh, g-gosh, ______...of course! I t-totally u-understand. I-I can’t come by just yet, b-but I can send Alphys your way ahead of me to keep you company. I just have to finish this one thing…”

“Sure thing, Undyne,” you replied, glad she could take off of work on such short notice. Admittedly, you didn’t need Alphys here too, not with Raya lurking in the house somewhere, but you weren’t going to deter her. If it made her feel better to have her girlfriend watching over you until she could make it, you’d deal with it. Besides, it wasn’t like you didn’t like Alphys. She was just a bit much sometimes. Hopefully you could convince her to tone it down a bit until Undyne could come.

Suddenly, your phone vibrated against your head and made you jump – a text, apparently. And probably from Papyrus. You heard Undyne’s shuffling papers stop when you gasped.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Just got spooked by a text,” you breathed in a hurry before she could ask, the little laugh that escaped more air than sound. You could almost hear Undyne frowning.

“Y-you sure you’re okay, Foxy? I m-mean, I know you said you were in your video, a-and this morning in your texts, but…”

“Yeah, no, um…I’m just…okay, I was doing better. Then I got a text from one of the guys who saved me yesterday, and it turns out he’s a fan? And I just…don’t know what to do about this? I don’t know how to feel? And I’m still texting him? So I’m a little jumpy and on edge from that, I think. Oh, and um, Raya’s home today, too. As far as I know, she’s still asleep, though, so Alphys’ll have to be a little quieter when she gets here. Just fyi.”

There’s a pause, and you can tell that Undyne nodded, forgetting you can’t see her.

“R-right. Okay, we definitely need to talk face to face. I’ll let Alphys kn-know what’s going on and send her over. Sit t-tight, ______. We’ll be there soon! And I’ll make you all the magic-infused J-candy you can eat!”

You laugh at this – bless her for being your best friend – and you both hung up. Just hearing her voice made you feel better, so you were sure you were at least going to be able to work on commissions today, as promised. Then you remembered the text.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _i already told you, you don’t have to apologize so much. it’s really my fault anyway. i’m the one who freaked you out. but i wasn’t thinking about that. crazy fans, media attention – makes sense. sorry for scaring you so bad. and meeting you was…not bad. just nothing like i was expecting._

You bit your lip. Goddammit, he was being so sweet and understanding! It was hard to be suspicious of him like this…

**_You:_ ** _Force of habit. & u’re fine. After all, u’re a skeleton – can’t expect u 2 b all brains, can I? ;) I’m jk. But 4 reals. I kno that in person, I’m not like in my vids. & not b/c I’m faking it 4 the vids – I’m not. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t b a YouTuber if I had 2 fake that stuff. But…I kno I’m weird. Y I’m so shy is kind of a long story. Don’t really like 2 talk about it. But there IS a reason I’m the way I am._

You had to resist asking him to try and understand where you were coming from about your shyness and reluctance to talk about it. It felt like a bit much to ask that of him, so you left that part out. When he didn’t reply, you guessed it was because he was busy (he _did_ have a job, right?). And instead of waiting around for him to answer, you decided to get up and go make some breakfast since you hadn’t yet. Besides, with more than one person to cook for this morning, it’d be nice to do something out of the ordinary. That got you smiling and you quickly hopped out of bed, snagging your phone and tea before heading back downstairs, a spring in your step.

Much to your surprise, Raya was already in the kitchen when you got there – and from the look on her face, nursing her first cup of coffee. You resisted the urge to laugh at her expression, going right over to the fridge and getting stuff out.

“Morning, Ray-ray!” you chirped. She groaned in response, slouching lower in her chair. You actually did laugh this time, but breezed right by it.

“So, I’m making breakfast this morning for both of us. What would you like? Besides that,” you snickered when she raised her coffee mug.

“Biscuits. Bacon. Ooh, and –”

“Pancakes? Way ahead of you, sis. Homemade, with cinnamon, vanilla extract, walnuts, and bananas.”

“Oh…oh, that sounds so much better than plain pancakes. You’re the best. What did we do to deserve you?”

You shrug, not sure how to answer, but smile and laugh anyway. As you started the bacon and plopped the biscuits onto a baking sheet, that little thought from earlier came back to nag you. This was only possible because Raya quit her job…you had to talk to her about it. So while you were mixing the pancake batter together and waiting for the oven to preheat for the biscuits (and Raya got started on her second cup of coffee – good, she’d need it), you tried to say something in your most nonchalant voice.

“So you quit yesterday?”

Way to be subtle, ______.

Raya twitched, spilling a bit of sugar. She swore softly and began cleaning it up. Good thing you could see her and what she’d been swearing at – you would have thought she was swearing at you, otherwise.

“Yeah. About that. Look, I know you’re probably beating yourself up over it, but seriously, don’t. I’ve wanted to get out of there for a while. The last straw was them not letting me leave when you needed me. Literally nothing is more important to me than family – they knew that when they hired me. And they had the nerve to pull that shit?” She snorted angrily. “Like hell I was gonna stay after that. They’ve been looking for an excuse to fire me same as I’ve been looking for a good excuse to quit. So that’s not on you, ______. Please don’t think it is. And with everything that happened yesterday, I’m just glad to see that you’re at least feeling somewhat better.”

She smiled gently and put a hand on your shoulder. You gave her a shaky smile in return. She knew you all too well. Then again, she was your big sister. Kinda her job. The oven pinging that it was ready for the biscuits snapped you both out of the moment, making you jump. You laughed it off (goddamn you were jumpy this morning), popping the biscuits in and going back to the pancake batter.

“Thanks, Raya. I needed to hear that. This should all be ready pretty soon if you wanna go to the den and turn on the TV. Oh! And Alphys and Undyne are coming over, so maybe queue some anime or something? Undyne had to finish something at work first, so Alphys will beat her here, but…yeah. Fair warning.”

Raya hummed in response, sipping her coffee as she leaned against the counter and watched you work.

“They know what’s up?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think to tell Undyne when it happened, but I put up a video on my channel about it for a brief break in my posting schedule. She saw it and found out that way. And if one of them knows…”

“So does the other. Yeah, I know. Who prompted the hang out?”

“I did, actually. Was really feeling the need for some bestie-time. And about –”

Before you could warn Raya about Papyrus knowing you were FoxyNerd, there came a mighty pounding from the front door that had you nearly jumping out of your skin. Dammit, Alphys – why couldn’t she knock like a normal person? You could’ve heard that knock from almost anywhere in the house. Though, maybe that was the point.

“I’ll let her in,” Raya chuckled, a smile already on her lips as she set down her mug of coffee (a wise choice, you both knew) and went to do just that.

“Tell her not to touch me until I’m not holding anything!” you called after your sister. She just laughed, opening the door for the reptilian woman.

“Hey – oh, you’re up! Good! Then I won’t have to be quiet like Undyne said!” Alphys barked, her voice carrying easily. It reminded you a bit of Sans’ voice in that regard. “Yo, NERY PUNK! I’m here and ready to smash some skulls if you need me to! Oh, and Undyne had me bring all the ingredients we had for her candy!”

The yellow monster was still bellowing by the time she got into the kitchen. Sure enough, she was carrying boxes of various things, most of which you recognized from helping out Undyne in the kitchen with her J-candies before. Oh, and they’d even thought to grab extra magic to put in! Your smile grew and you flashed it at the stocky monster woman.

“Good to see you too, Alph. And hopefully, that won’t be necessary. But the candies sure will be! Yum-o!”

Alphys’ booming laugh echoed around the small space, drowning out your own giggles. She then plopped the boxes down on the kitchen island, since you weren’t using that space, and swept a critical eye over what you were doing.

“Before you say or do anything, I don’t need your help. I can handle making biscuits, bacon, and pancakes myself.”

Alphys hmphed at you, but you could see her smiling out of the corner of your eye. You knew she was secretly proud of how far you’d come with her. Months ago, you could barely look her in the eye. Now, you were sassing her like you thought you could take her in a fight. It was a big step for you, especially given her abrasive personality. But you’d managed to make a friend out of her, and she was just about as protective of you as your own siblings.

“Suit yourself, punk. Undyne’s almost done with what she had to do, so she’ll be here soon.”

“Okay. You eaten yet? I can make some for you, too.”

“I’ll take you up on that, nerd! Smells awesome anyway.”

You beamed at the praise, and promptly shooed her out of your work space, content with the thought of more people around for once. It was a nice change of pace when it was your friends.

“You’ve got a text message. Text messages are cool.”

“You _still_ haven’t changed that?” Alphys laughed, wrinkling her snout. You raised your fists at her, a playful smirk on your face.

“Fight me,” you answered, to which she roared with laughter. Once she calmed down, she pointed to your phone still sitting on the island.

“You gonna answer it?”

“Nah. Not while I’m cooking. Don’t want to burn anything.”

“Alright. Then I’ll get it for you!”

You paled, whirling as she reached for your phone. Shit, too late to stop her from picking it up and unlocking it (you were going to have to change your phone lock now, dammit). There was a pause as you turned back to your cooking, your face burning, and waited for her reaction to whatever was on the screen.

“Who the hell is Skeletor?”

You knew she meant who he was in your phone, but you couldn’t help the implication that popped into your head. You had to wonder if she knew anything about _He-Man_. Probably not. So you turned and gave her your best shocked expression, while Raya (who had settled at the island a while ago) genuinely stared at the reptilian woman.

“Have you not seen _He-Man_?” you asked incredulously.

“No. What’s that? And what’s it got to do with Skeletor?”

“Oh god,” Raya answered, looking dazed. She then latched on to Alphys’ arm, pulling your phone out of her hand and leaving it on the island for you. “We need to fix this. Right fucking now. That show was only me and Jax’s childhood, and you _need_ to see the majesty that was _He-Man_.”

Raya pulled Alphys out of the room with a determined expression. The poor monster was still confused, though.

“Hold up! Who the hell is He-Man? Who the hell is Skeletor?!”

You tried to suppress your giggles. You knew it. And with Alphys occupied, your phone was safe for now. But that at least answered who had texted you. Papyrus. Making a quick check of everything you were making, you were content to see that nothing would burn while you checked your messages.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _lol stars, that’s a good one. haven’t gotten that one before. have to remember that. and yeah, you could say that. didn’t figure you were faking it, though. i can tell you’re genuine in your vids. something i liked about ya when i first found your channel. but hey, who’s to say what’s weird and what’s not? after all, pretty sure there are still people who think monsters are weird. and i get it. if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s fine. i’ll just have to wait for the day you decide to tell me with baited breath. or i would – but i don’t have lungs._

You snort several times while you read, laughing at his comments. You’d gotten him good with your joke! Score! And he admitted something about you he liked…your heart fluttered in your chest at that. (Stop that, you!) And he didn’t think you were weird. Bonus! And he was willing to be patient with you and wait for you to open up to him, rather than trying to force you. You were grateful for that. Not everyone was so understanding. But then he _had_ to follow it up with that comment about waiting for you again, bringing back that feeling from yesterday of missing something. You’d have to ask Alphys or Undyne about it later, dammit. This was annoying. Oh, you’d better get back to your cooking! Didn’t want anything to burn!

Just as you were finishing up the food (and ignoring Papyrus’ text for now), you heard a soft knock at the door. That was probably Undyne. Sure enough, she threw her arms around you the second you opened the door for her and she realized it was you.

“Hey __-______,” she said as she slid past you and into the house. You smiled at her, glad to have your best friend here.

“Hey Undyne.”

“W-what’s that smell? It’s so good!”

“I just finished making breakfast. Should be enough for everyone if you want some too. Oh, that reminds me… _Alphys! Raya! Food’s ready!_ ” you shouted towards the den. Undyne flinched at your sudden increase in volume, which you shot her an apologetic look for. She waved you off and you both headed for the kitchen, the sound of the TV suddenly silenced in the other room.

“What did you make?” Undyne asked, taking a seat at the island and scooting the boxes of candy ingredients to the side. You nabbed four plates out of the cabinet with a smile, serving up the first plate yourself.

“Bacon, biscuits, and homemade pancakes.”

“She makes _the best_ pancakes, Undyne,” Raya said as she strode into the room, swiping the first plate you’d made. (And that was why you were already serving up a second one.)

“R-really?”

“According to her,” you snorted, sprinkling some magic over the food on the second plate. “They’ve got vanilla extract, walnuts, cinnamon, and bananas in them.”

Undyne got a starry-eyed look, and smiled a little as Alphys entered the room.

“Those _do_ sound good! And you just reminded me…I f-forgot to eat this morning. Thanks, ______.”

“Of course, Unnie honey!” you chirped, giggling at the shade of red the fish-woman turned from your nickname. You then stepped over and slid the plate in front of her, starting to prepare a third for Alphys.

“Well, now I know who He-Man and Skeletor are. But why is Skeletor in your phone?”

“’Cause it’s not really Skeletor. You know how everything in my phone is a nerd reference?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m just barrowing Skeletor’s name for the reference.”

“So then who the hell are you talking to?! Why name them Skeletor?!”

You laughed at Alphys’ confusion, and Undyne looked between you and her girlfriend, completely lost. Raya just smiled knowingly.

“So which one is it? Tall and suspicious or short ‘n sweet?”

You snort, knowing she means Sans and Papyrus.

“Tall and suspicious. That little marshmallow fluff cutie pie is Blue Wonder.”

Raya starts cracking up, and whether it’s at the thought of Sans as Robin or Papyrus as Skeletor, you can’t tell. But it’s got both of you grinning anyway, so you don’t particularly care. Though, you do start to giggle at the thought of Papyrus as Skeletor…and you almost spill the container of magic in your hand as you sprinkle it over Alphys’ plate.

“W-what’s so funny?”

“Oh, just…um, so, the guys that saved me yesterday? They’re skeleton monsters. Brothers to boot. The ‘short ‘n sweet’ one is Sans – and he is the most precious little cinnamon roll I’ve ever met. He’s Blue Wonder in my phone. Batman reference, sweetie. As in Batman’s sidekick, Robin, _Boy_ Wonder. Sans has a thing for blue, and he’s very brave and heroic, so…anyway. ‘Tall and suspicious’ is Papyrus. I don’t know much about him except that he’s freakin’ tall, has an awful sense of humor, and he sounds a little like Skeletor. So, since he’s both a skeleton and sounds a bit like the character…Skeletor. Which is why we’re cracking up,” you finish, laughing again at the thought of Papyrus dressed up as Skeletor. Raya is doubled over in her chair, trying not to bust a gut again. Recognition passes on Alphys’ face at the same time as understanding crosses Undyne’s.

“Wait, those punks are the ones who rescued you? HELL YES! It’s about fuckin’ TIME you met them! Did they meet Jackson, too?” the yellow monster asks eagerly as she takes her plate.

“Yeah. After we gave them both a good scare with my magic,” Raya snorted, ducking her head sheepishly at your glare. They both winced.

“Yeah…Papyrus i-isn’t keen on humans anyway. I-it makes sense that you’d call him s-suspicious. How b-bad did he freak over the m-mage thing?”

“Well, he…didn’t try to attack anyone…” you supplied, glancing at Alphys. She cringed a little. “But he didn’t take it that well, either. He was more than a little pissed.”

Undyne nodded.

“I was e-expecting as much.”

“Hold up though. You said you’ve been wanting us to meet them? Like, are they a part of your friend group from the Underground?”

“Oh, shit. Did you not know…?” Raya winced this time, looking guilty. “Sorry, I thought you would have. Jax mentioned me quitting, so I figured…”

“We didn’t have a lot of time to talk this morning, Raya. What do you know that I don’t?”

“Um…well, I already knew that Alphys and Undyne had wanted us to meet them. We talked about it before they left yesterday. I think they were the only ones left that Jax hadn’t met? And there are still a few I haven’t, but no biggie for now. Not important,” she added for the two monster women who were about to protest. You scowled at your sister, then proceeded to finally start assembling your own plate of food.

“You could have said something! All morning I’ve been so worked up…ugh. But hey, for real, Undyne…how I said one of my rescuers knows I’m FoxyNerd?” (Oh, of course you have Raya’s attention now.) “It’s Papyrus. And I’m just…I dunno. Do you trust him? I mean, he already told me he’s not gonna spill to anyone, but…”

“Dude,” Alphys answers for her, leveling you with a serious look. “You know how good I keep a secret, yeah? Well that orange punk ass skeleton is even better. You ain’t getting shit from him unless he wants you to. That’s how tough a nut he is to crack. You can trust him, punk. If he knows and isn’t willing to tell, he’s good to his word.”

You felt an immense pressure ease off your shoulders at hearing this. Alphys never ever lied to any of you about anything, so if she thought you could trust Papyrus, well…you couldn’t help but visibly relax when she said it.

“Really? Oh, that’s a huge relief. Thank god. I didn’t like being so suspicious of him. He’s been really nice and understanding so far, and it felt pretty shitty of me to be so distrustful of him in return, you know?”

As if the skeleton in question knew he was being talked about, your phone went off (another text from him, unsurprisingly), and Undyne managed to grab your phone before you or her girlfriend. (Dammit, you _really_ needed to change you lock pattern or something!) She read the current text, then scrolled through your previous ones, your face heating up as she did. When she scrolled back down to the most current message and handed your phone to Alphys, she had _that look_. But she waited until Alphys had a matching look of glee on her face before she let loose one of her high-pitched and mosquito-like squeals. Raya winced and covered her ears.

“What the hell? How do we shut it off?”

“We don’t,” you sighed, slumping onto the barstool across from your best friend. You knew that face all too well. It was her “shipper face” as you’d dubbed it. Sure enough, she turned that look on you, and squeaked, “My newest OTP is finally starting!”

“Undyne…” you complain, picking a strip of bacon off your plate to nibble at for distraction. “You should be eating. And giving me my phone back. Not going gaga for something that’s probably _never_ going to happen.”

“But you flirted with him! And he joked back! And you got him with one! No one ever gets Papyrus with a joke!” Undyne gushed, her eyes sparkly and happy. “And he’s all embarrassed about it! And you were saying that you didn’t like not trusting him! And…oh, I just knew it! I knew one of them would be perfect for you! I told you it would be Papyrus, Alphys! I just knew!”

Alphys stubbornly stood by her decision that Sans would be the one to woo you (something about there still being time), and you flushed, embarrassed.

“Wait, you flirted with _who_ now?” Raya piped up, and your head shot up from where you’d been hiding it against your arm.

“It was an accident! Accidental flirting! I didn’t mean to!”

“This winking face doesn’t look accidental to me!” Alphys barked with a laugh, scrolling to the appropriate message before shoving your phone in your face. You took the chance to yank it from her grip, sure your face was beet-red by now.

“Can we all just eat in peace and pretend this never happened? Please?” you begged the three of them, which was met by a chorus of laughter before they finally relented and dug in to their food. While they were distracted, you glanced at the text Papyrus had sent you.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _you okay? you haven’t answered in a while. is this because of something i said? shit, um, look, if it’s about the thing i said i liked, i really didn’t mean it in any other context._

Aw, he was embarrassed about that, too? You felt your cheeks heat up and you sat your phone next to you plate while you ate, purposefully avoiding Alphys and Undyne’s faces. You didn’t want to know if you’d been caught, or what they’re reactions would be. At least, until Undyne and Alphys both made noises of sheer happiness.

“Ooh my gosh, ______! These _are_ amazing!” Undyne gushed. You glanced up to see she’d taken a bite of her pancakes and you grinned, pleased.

“Damn, girl can cook!” Alphys moaned around her mouthful, and you giggled.

“Glad you guys can appreciate my culinary skills.”

“Told you she makes the best pancakes.”

With them distracted, you scooped up your phone and began typing a response to Papyrus. You’d made the poor guy sweat long enough.

**_You:_ ** _O gosh, sry! I was cooking, that’s y I didn’t reply right away! It wasn’t wat u said, I swear! Sry! Um, anyway, glad I managed 2 find 1 u haven’t heard b4. Must b a rare thing, right? & I’m glad u could tell I’m genuine. It’s sumthng I pride myself on 4 my channel, so I’m glad that’s what drew u in. Honesty like that’s surprisingly difficult 2 come by. & yeah, I guess u’re right. Thnx 4 bing so understanding. Not every1 is. & lol srsly?! U’re unbelievable. XD_

**_You:_ ** _O, & turns out we have mutual friends & no1 told me?? My bestie is Undyne, & I’m pretty close 2 her GF Alphys, 2 – not as close as Jax, since she’s his bestie, but watevs. They’re both over rn & helped calm me down from the mini freak out I was having earlier. So yeah. That’s a thing._

You put your phone down and glanced up, only to be met with three faces grinning back at you. And somehow, Alphys and Undyne had moved so that Raya was sitting between them without you noticing. And all three of them had the shipper look, goddammit. You didn’t even know Raya could _get_ that look. You blushed and fidgeted in your seat, picking at your own food.

“What?” you finally demanded.

“You were smiling.”

“Literally the whole time.”

“You were texting him back, w-weren’t you?”

Oh god, was it possible for you to die of embarrassment? You half hoped not.

“Maybe! Shut up! I wasn’t smiling!”

All three of them are laughing mercilessly at you now, and your face gets even redder.

“You guys are the fucking worst! Ugh, I hate you all!”

This only got them laughing harder, and thank god none of them were trying to eat, because they would have choked. Hell, it was bad enough that Alphys fell out of her chair, she was laughing so hard. Wanting this over with, you wolfed down the rest of your plate, dropped your dishes in the sink, then scooped up your phone and rushed out of the room. Maybe going to take a shower would give them time to settle. Shipping little assholes. Just before you jumped in the shower, you shot Papyrus another text.

**_You:_ ** _Heads up, Alphys & Undyne have a new ship. & I’m right in the crosshairs. & the “ship”, u ask? Y, 1 of them is set on cing me w/ Sans…& the other wants US 2 hook up. Ugh, & they’ve corrupted my sister in2 it, 2. Fucking sucks. U have been warned._

You almost left your phone in the bathroom when you got out, but thought better of it. You didn’t want a repeat of earlier. So once you finished getting ready for the day, you checked your messages, just in case Papyrus had texted you again in the shower.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _oh, good. i was actually starting to worry. and yeah, it is rare to find one that i haven’t heard. good going. and trust me, i know a thing or two about honesty and all that. you’re one of the better youtubers out there just because you’re open and honest with your fans. it’s pretty cool. and of course. everyone’s got their demons, right? heh heh, but you’re smiling, aren’t ya?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _wait, seriously? i mean, i knew about you being friends with undyne and jax with alphys, but no one bothered to tell ya? geez, no wonder you freaked earlier. can’t blame ya there. oh, and i knew about you an undyne because not only did your siblings tell me, but so did she went i texted her last night. but anyway, glad they managed to calm ya down. sorry again for scaring ya._

**_Skeletor:_ ** _shit._

You smiled first when you imagined how relieved he probably was that he was worried over nothing, widening when he praised your joke again. Then you blushed meekly at the praise for you and your channel, unsure how to take it. Damn, he was being so nice to you! Had he maybe figured out how uncomfortable he’d made you yesterday and was trying to make up for it? You secretly hoped not. You wanted to think he was just being nice to be nice. And again with him being understanding…you really felt bad for not trusting him earlier. And dammit, he got you there – you were definitely smiling. (You then tried to school your face into something that wasn’t a smile. It was harder than you thought.)

Now the second text…dammit, he knew too? Now you frowned and growled a little in frustration. Why was it everyone but you knew this already? Wait – he’d texted Undyne last night about this? Sneaky little fish! She’d already known you had nothing to worry about! Oh, why couldn’t she have said something over the phone about it earlier or something? Now you were just annoyed and frustrated, and you couldn’t even bring yourself to smile at the last one-word text. But “shit” was right. On many different levels. You and your bestie needed to talk.

Opening your door again, you take a big breath.

” _Undyne!_ ” you bellowed, imbuing the shout with as much of your negative emotions as you could, just to get them out. When she didn’t come scrambling up the stairs to your room immediately, you waited, arms crossed, for an answer.

“She’s making your fucking candy, so hold your fucking horses, woman!” Alphys shouted back, sounding irritable. It was your tone, no doubt. Undyne was probably a bit of a mess from hearing your displeasure, and would have no doubt flinched from the raised volume, so it made sense. The only one Alphys was more protective over than your family and her other friends was Undyne. Still, though you were irritated, you knew better than to try and pull the fish-monster away from what she was doing, so you stomped down the stairs, your phone tucked safely in your pocket.

Once you reached the kitchen, you leaned against the counter and waited for Undyne to get done with what she was prepping. Once she finally had a minute, she turned to you, wringing her hands.

“Y-yes, ______?”

“Papyrus tells me that you already knew that he knew.” You keep your tone as even as you can, letting your irritation make itself known only by your pinched expression.

“I-I-I…y-yeah, I knew,” she sighed, deflating instantly. Her ear-fins drooped in shame, and she wouldn’t meet your eyes. You clench and unclench your jaw in silence for a moment, controlling the flare of anger at this. You would not lash out at your best friend, you would not lash out at your best friend…

“And you didn’t think to text me about it the second you knew because…?” you asked, stretching out the last word. Her gaze remained firmly on the floor.

“B-because it was really late, and I f-figured you would be asleep.”

“So when you called like I asked and I told you what had me so freaked, you didn’t say anything _then_ …why…?”

“You didn’t want to talk about it over the phone!” she replied, her tone suddenly defensive as her gaze finally met yours. Just as quickly, she seemed to smother the reaction, throwing her eyes back to the ground. “Not that I c-can blame you for that…I knew you wanted to talk a-about it i-in person, so I was just waiting u-until I could come to tell you. Then one thing lead to another, and…you found out anyway. I-I’m sorry, ______. I didn’t m-mean to keep it from you. I…”

You cut her off with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose around your glasses. Your anger and irritation had faded, and now you felt bad for making her so upset yourself, but there were still traces of annoyance in your system.

“I’m not upset, Undyne. I’m just frustrated is all. Your reasons are sound, and I understand where you were coming from. I just…the whole misunderstanding could have been avoided. And not just because of you, so don’t think you’re the only one taking the heat, here. I’m…it’s fine. It’s okay. I just needed to get that out there. I’m annoyed, but I don’t, like, hate you or anything. You’re still my best friend. I still want you here. And I’ll get over being frustrated. Just…next time, text me. I don’t care what time it is, or what I may or may not be doing at the time – text me. Please.”

Undyne nodded readily, tears at the corners of her amber-colored eyes, looking relieved you weren’t that upset. You sighed again at your nervous wreck of a bestie and held your arms open, an invitation for a hug. She didn’t need any further incentive, leaping into your arms happily and nearly toppling you both to the floor. You can’t stop the smile that stretches across your face if you tried, gently nuzzling her affectionately. You’d meant what you’d said. You were still her friend, and friends were so hard for you to come by…not even something like this was taking her from you now. You would make sure of that.

“So we cool, Unnie?”

“F-frosty!”

You giggled, pushing her off of you and admiring her wide fang-bearing grin. You couldn’t help but grin right back.

“Good. Now, I’m gonna go grab my laptop and my tablet and set up camp down here while you work on making those little bits of Japanese goodness. ‘Kay?”

She nodded, hopping back into her task. Alphys finally quit giving you the stink eye from her spot at the island, and Raya looked proud of how you handled the situation, mouthing “Good going, sis.” You flashed them both a smile and ran back upstairs to fetch your laptop and the tablet you worked on digital commissions with, dragging them both back into the kitchen with you.

As Undyne made the candies and you worked on commissions, you played music, since it would have been too distracting to try and play an episode of anime in the background. You both ended up singing along quite loudly to most of the songs that played, Alphys joining you from time to time. Eventually, Raya left to go hang with some friends of her own, but with Undyne and Alphys there, you didn’t mind. Not that you minded to begin with – you were fine with being alone. Alone was what you were used to. You liked being alone. But you also liked having your friends there with you. There was a certain warmth and cheer in the air with them around that you didn’t get when you were alone. It felt…lively. Fun. Nice. And when you took a break from your commissions to enjoy your magic-infused J-candies, as Undyne promised, you felt significantly better. Good food (monster or not), good friends, good times… _this_ was what you really needed.


	5. The Supernatural Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *swan dives in from the Void* Guess who let the time get away from her between chapters? ^^; Sorry this one took so long to get posted, guys! *backflips back out*

You ended up putting off making any videos until the next day and spent all day with Undyne and Alphys, the two female monsters making you feel better than you had even before the whole crazy incident started. More than once, your phone went off, but you ignored it in favor of your gal-pals, your commissions (which they were both more than happy to help out with as the situation called for it), and anime binge watching. At the end of the day, when Raya and Jackson both came home, the three of you saw Undyne and Alphys off before all three of you went off to do different things. Knowing you had a while before one of them called for dinner, you sat on your bed with your laptop, checking various idle games you played (you were ridiculously hooked on several of them – what could you say?) and scrolling around on different websites you frequented, when your phone went off again. Remembering all the texts you’d been getting, you wince and finally check it.

**_Skeletor:_ ** _uh, ______? you still okay over there? alphys and undyne haven’t gone overboard on you with the shipping thing, have they?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _please tell me they haven’t. it’s like them to go nuts, sure, but…_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _______? hello?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _stars, you’re terrible about replying to texts. please tell me your busy or your phone is just off or busted or something and that’s why you haven’t answered yet._

**_Skeletor:_ ** _okay, seriously, i’m getting worried. are you okay?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _do i seriously need to come check on you? just make sure you’re alive and all that?_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _if you don’t answer soon, i’m coming over._

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _HUMAN FRIEND? ARE YOU WELL? PAPYRUS TELLS ME YOU HAVEN’T ANSWERED YOUR PHONE FOR A LONG TIME! HE IS QUITE WORRIED! IF YOU ARE WELL, YOU SHOULD CALL HIM OR TEXT HIM BACK AND LET HIM KNOW BEFORE REPLYING TO ME!_

**_Skeletor:_ ** _goddammit. i’d make good on that last text, but i have a thing with undyne soon._

**_Skeletor:_ ** _oh my stars, seriously? you’ve been ignoring your phone all day? that’s why you haven’t answered? i had to text undyne right before i ended up seeing her to check if you were okay! stars, woman! answer your goddamn phone next time!_

You…felt like shit now. Whoops. You’d really made the boys worry. Particularly Papyrus. But after the cold shoulder he’d been giving you yesterday, you didn’t think he cared that much about you. Apparently your tease about him getting attached to you was closer on the mark than you realized. This made your cheeks heat up, but you smothered the thought quickly. You shot a message to both skeletons.

**_You:_ ** _Hey! I’m so sry 4 not replying sooner! I was having so much fun w/ Alphys & Undyne 2day, I would get a txt & then 4get about it like .2 secs l8er. Super sry! But I AM ok, I swear! Thank u 4 checking up on me, tho! It’s rly sweet u’re so worried about me. :)_

Knowing that they wouldn’t realize they got the same message, you just sent it as a group text, then went back to your laptop. A few seconds later, your text tone went off again.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _OH, THAT IS WONDERFUL NEWS, HUMAN! I AM GLAD YOU HAD SUCH FUN TODAY! BUT PLEASE BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT ANSWERING YOUR PHONE! WE WERE QUITE WORRIED ABOUT YOU! PAPYRUS WAS EVEN PACING AT WORK, AND HE’S SUCH A LAZYBONES!! BUT I AM GALD YOU ARE DOING WELL AFTER ALL!! HAVE YOU TOLD PAPYRUS YOU ARE WELL YET?_

Judging from the lack of response from Papyrus, he was pretty upset with you. You sighed, settling in to text Sans back instead.

**_You:_ ** _Thnx, Sans. I meant it when I said u were sweet 4 checking on me! <3 & I rly am sry 4 worrying u & Papyrus. I didn’t realize he was txting me, or that he was so concerned 4 my safety. Tbh, I wasn’t even sure he liked me that much…but we’ve been txting off & on, so I kno he’s cool. & yeah, I told him. Sent him the same txt u got. But I think he’s prob still pretty mad @ me…not sure he’s gonna reply 4 a while. But that’s ok. Don’t worry about it 2 much, Sans. He’ll calm down, & we’ll talk, & it’ll b ok. Just wait & c! :)_

Satisfied with your answer, you turn back to your laptop. You had a few more digital commissions you wanted to work on, and the games and website scrolling was really just a nice break from work for a few minutes. But you really should get back to it…but what to do for your next piece? You had a few requests, and thanks to Alphys and Undyne, you had already finished all your physical commissions, so all that was left was the digital. Let’s see, now…your inbox on everything was always overflowing with requests for commissions, so really, it was just a matter of picking what you wanted to work on the most (or what you’d been putting off the longest).

You decide to head to the bottom of your list, and found a few suitable choices. One request for the client and some friends as _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ or _Avatar: The Legend of Korra_ characters, preferably while bending…one for you and your ideal _Pokemon_ team…one for a portrait of you and some friends or you and your siblings, just done in your distinctive art style…one for an animated music video of a song you didn’t even actually like…(Those took so long to make, and you wouldn’t even get to enjoy working on it! No wonder it was at the bottom of your list on this particular site…)

Oh, this one could be fun! It was a request for you to draw yourself/your friends/your siblings in the style of the game _Okami_. The client wanted you to figure out which of the _Okami_ in-game the subject(s) connected to best, then draw them as that character…but humanoid if the character was an animal. Basically, an _Okami_ -reality crossover. You could manage that.

Right as you decide to message back the _Okami_ requester, your phone goes off, and you try to keep your message to the client brief so you could get to the text quickly. Once it’s complete and sent off, you grab your phone.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _VERY WELL, HUMAN! I WILL TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT! THOUGH I DO NOT THINK IT A GOOD IDEA TO LET HIM BE ANGRY AT YOU FOR ANY REASON. BUT! YOU REQUEST MY TRUST, AND YOU SHALL HAVE IT! AND OF COURSE MY BROTHER IS COOL! NOT QUITE AS COOL AS ME, BUT STILL VERY COOL NONETHELESS!! AND WHY WOULD YOU THINK HE DID NOT LIKE YOU TO BEGIN WITH, HUMAN? AND OF COURSE I WOULD CHECK ON YOU! WE ARE FRIENDS, AFTER ALL!! AND FRIENDS MAKE SURE THEIR FRIENDS ARE OKAY WHEN THEY DO NOT ANSWER THEIR PHONES FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME!!_

Aww…he really was too sweet and precious. Bless the little cinnamon roll. You sigh before starting in on your text back, though.

**_You:_ ** _Thnx 4 the trust, Sans. I’m telling u, he’ll calm down on his own & come around. U’ll c! & yeah, he is. He even took the news that Undyne & Alphys r having a shipping war over the 3 of us pretty well, lol. &…tbh, it was this look he kept giving me. He watched me like a hawk all day yesterday. Like scrutinizing & judging my every move & word kind of watching. He’s been rly kind & understanding in our txts, but…I mean, when he looks @ ppl, is he always that intense?? B/c he has a very piercing gaze, & it’s a little unsettling. I mean, that sounds rude, but it’s tru. I warmed up 2 u rly fast, but Papyrus…it’ll take sum getting used 2._

**_You:_ ** _Sry, I don’t mean 2 dump a bunch of stuff on u & complain & junk! U guys r pretty cool. I just noticed Papyrus staring a lot & I wasn’t sure wat 2 think or do about it…& given that I’m so shy, it just felt weird 2 hav him watching me all day…augh, I’m complaining again! Sry! Ugh…there’s no salvaging this…sry._

You wince at yourself and your awkwardness when it came to the phrasing of your texts. Most of the time, you were so chill in messages, but Papyrus had a way of even making you weird in texts. You weren’t sure what to think about the tall skeleton. But it did give you an idea…

With the sudden rush of inspiration, you didn’t bother waiting for the client to answer your message and started drawing the _Okami_ -inspired piece. Hell, if they wanted something else, you would draw them something else and just keep this one for yourself. (You secretly hoped you could keep this one for yourself. You really liked the idea that came to mind, and for once, you didn’t want to share.)

When your phone went off and startled you out of your digital drawing frenzy, you glared at it, debating on whether or not to answer it. Not answering it was what had gotten you in trouble in the first place, a voice in the back of your head chastised, so you sighed and picked up the electronic, checking who it was.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _YOU ARE QUITE WELCOME, HUMAN!! AND WHAT SHIPPING WAR?! I MUST KNOW!! AS FOR MY BROTHER…HE CAN BE INTENSE, YES. BUT HE DOESN’T ALWAYS DO IT INTENTIONALLY. I NOTICED HIM BEHAVING STRANGELY AROUND YOU AS WELL. I WAS NOT AWARE THAT YOU NOTICED THE STARING, BUT IT WAS MORE THAN THAT. HE MENTIONED THAT YOU WERE HARD TO FIGURE OUT, AND IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS SOUL…BUT HE WOULDN’T GIVE ME AN ANSWER AFTER THAT. OH, AND I SHOULD MENTION THAT HE GENERALLY DOESN’T TRUST HUMANS. BESIDES THE MONSTER AMBASSADOR, CHARA. MOST HUMANS HAVE NOT BEEN AS KIND TO US AS YOU AND YOUR SIBLINGS HAVE, SO HE DOES NOT LIKE THEM VERY MUCH. BUT I BELIEVE HE SEES THAT YOU ARE DIFFERENT THAN MOST HUMANS! I BELIEVE HE CAN SENSE IT, AND HE IS UNUSED TO IT, AND THAT IS PERHAPS WHY HE IS SO STRANGE AROUND YOU! OH, BUT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE THAT HE DID NOT TRUST YOU AND YOUR SIBLINGS RIGHT AWAY. YOU ARE…AWARE OF THE HISTORY OF MAGES WITH MONSTERS?_

Wow. That was a lot more than you were bargaining for.

**_You:_ ** _Um, ok, give me a sec here. Lots 2 reply 2…the shipping war thing. Um. Do u kno wat a shipping war is?_

**_You:_ ** _W/ Papyrus…I kno Souls r a rly big deal & r a super personal thing, but…can u tell me exactly wat he said about it? & how am I hard 2 figure out?? Like wat??? But wow, um…I didn’t kno u guys knew the monster ambassador. That’s, like, huge?! & I’m sry that other humans havn’t been as nice 2 u guys. U guys r all rly nice & kind, from wat I’ve cn. U guys – monsters as a whole – deserve better than how awful sum of us still r 2 u. I apologize on behalf of humanity. We kind of suck most of the time. Sry._

**_You:_ ** _As 4 the history of mages w/ monsters…no, no1 ever told me. Undyne & Alphys didn’t want 2 talk about it, so I never asked. I think Jax & Raya might kno. I’ll go ask them 1st, hold on._

You sigh and plug in both your laptop and tablet, making sure both will remain charged for when you return to your work, then hop off the bed. At the same time as you’re getting up, you hear Raya shout from the kitchen.

“Yo! ______, Jax! Dinner!”

Perfect timing.

You snag your phone and head downstairs, helping Raya and Jackson set the table with the food and dishware before settling down to eat. After a few surface comments about the meal and how everyone’s days went, things turned to a comfortable silence. That is, until you broke it.

“Guys? I know this is gonna be a bit of a heavy topic, but…do you know anything about the history between monsters and mages?”

Raya almost did a spit take over how sudden your question was, and Jackson started coughing, evidently swallowing his bite of food wrong. After both of you checked that he was okay, your siblings turned to you with very serious looks.

“I know you’ve always had a fascination with magic, ______,” Jackson said hesitantly, exchanging a look with Raya, “but history isn’t your thing. Where is this coming from?”

“Well, Sans was explaining why it is Papyrus wouldn’t necessarily trust us right away, because I asked him if he was always so intense with people, and…anyway, long lead-in story short, he was explaining why Papyrus wouldn’t or didn’t trust us right away. Sans mentioned Papyrus doesn’t trust humans in general…except the monster ambassador, Chara. And totally not going in to how crazy _that_ is right now, because that’s a whole ‘nother beast entirely. But tall and suspicious doesn’t trust humans. And given that Sans said a lot of humans haven’t been very nice to them, I can see why. But he also mentioned that it made sense why his brother wouldn’t trust us especially, and then he asked if I knew anything about the history between monsters and mages. Since I don’t, and Alphys and Undyne didn’t want to talk about why they freaked out about it beyond that mages and monsters have some bad blood, I told him I’d ask you.”

Raya and Jackson shared another uncomfortable glance, and you had a feeling that the answer wasn’t going to be anything good. When they finally looked back at you, Raya spoke up this time.

“Are you sure you want to know, sis? It’s pretty heavy stuff…”

Despite the feeling of foreboding pressing on you, you shrug.

“If I don’t hear it from you, I’m hearing it from Sans. Take your pick.”

Both of them made a face, then glanced at each other one more time, as if trying to determine who would speak first. Finally, it was Jackson who sighed.

“Well, to really understand the history of monsters and mages, you have to know both of their histories. For the monsters, they used to live with humans and mages in peace. It wasn’t perfect, but it was still good. But, long, long ago, that peace was shattered by humans waging war against the monsters. To this day, very few monsters remember what caused the war to break out. Most speculation pins the blame on humans. And I honestly, all the different reasons with the speculation, I can see happening. Humanity is just like that.”

You nod in agreement, all three of you continuing to eat as he speaks.

“Anyway. Due to the fact that human Souls and forms are significantly stronger than monsters’, they lost the war very quickly. In order to survive and end the war, the monsters fled to Mt. Ebott. The humans, not wanting monsters to make a comeback or rise up again or something, reached out to the only people who could help them stop the monsters.”

“No!” you gasp, the dread that settled in your stomach getting worse as you realize just who would have been the ones to help the humans. To your horror, your siblings nodded.

“That’s right. The mages,” Raya nodded. “See, no one is quite sure when or how mages appeared, but when they did, there was uproar on both sides. Monsters were wary of humans possessing magic. Humans didn’t like other humans having powers they didn’t. Hence why things weren’t perfect as far as peace goes. But like Jackson said, it was still good once things calmed down. Eventually, the mages established themselves as a separate peoples from both monsters and humans. They became known for being third party mediators, although mages were actually kind of all over the place due to the differing types of magic and abilities from mage to mage. When the war first broke out, mages drew back and stayed a neutral party, not wanting to get involved with either side. But that didn’t last long. Pretty quickly, the mages became split down the middle. Half of them supported monsters, half of them supported humans. When the dust cleared from the battlefield, mages walked away with the most casualties, since the divide basically made for a civil war amongst them. However, when the monsters fled to Mt. Ebott, the mages and few humans who supported them were rounded up, branded as traitors, and killed on the spot.”

You couldn’t finish eating, you were so horrified. You’d expected something pretty bad, but this…

“And it gets worse. Remember how at the end of the war, the humans reached out to their mage supporters for help stopping the monsters from coming back? Well, they answered. The mages gathered the seven best they had left and sent them to the humans. And the humans sent the seven mages to the mountain with one goal: seal the monsters into the caves they had taken shelter in by any means necessary. And, at the cost of their lives due to the sheer amount of magic they had to use to do it, those seven mages created the barrier.”

“From then on, the histories of monsters and mages don’t intersect again until Chara somehow managed to break the barrier and free the monster from the Underground. But there _is_ more…if you want to know,” Jackson added grimly, giving you an out now that you had the information you needed to answer Sans. Since there was more to this story, some morbidly curious part of you wanted to know the rest. You hesitantly nodded for them to continue, despite whatever look was on your face. They both sighed, Raya going to clear the table, since none of you were eating anymore.

“After the barrier was created and the seven mages were reported as dead,” Jackson continued, “there was a period of tentative peace between the remaining mages and the humans. But that couldn’t last forever. After all, without the monsters, there was an imbalance of power between the mages and the humans. And the humans just couldn’t have that. So, over the course of the next…lord knows how long, the mages were hunted down and murdered. Burned, drowned, hung, stabbed, crushed, beaten, poisoned, beheaded, drawn-and-quartered, starved, shot, stuck in an iron maiden, imprisoned…the list goes on and on. Extremely few mages survived the slaughter, and those that did fled, scattering across the world in order to disappear. The last big mage hunt in this country was known as the Salem Witch Trials.”

“ _What?_ ” you cried, incredulous. “But – but the history books don’t say anything about mages! The Witch Trials were about people hunting down those they believed practiced witchcraft!”

“That’s what the humans wanted everyone to think,” Raya interjected, sitting back down. “There were always a select few who knew the truth as it was passed from generation to generation, going all the way back to the war and the barrier and the original mage slaughter. But the majority of humans by the time of the Witch Trials had stopped believing in monsters and mages. Both had been absent for so long, humans had no reason to believe in any of it. So when those few who knew the truth discovered a handful of mages living in Salem, they convinced a human girl to start pointing fingers and screaming ‘witch’ so they could have an excuse to swoop in and wipe them out. Hence the start of the Salem Witch Trials. And once it was all over, those few who knew believed mages to be completely eradicated. That’s why it was the last of the mage hunts.”

“But how has none of this come to light before? Why doesn’t anyone know the truth?” you demanded, mortified and ashamed to be human with your mage siblings.

“Because when the humans were originally killing off the mages, they also gathered up anything and everything relating to the existence of monsters and mages and destroyed it. They wanted to erase both races from existence, so it seemed the humans were the dominant race. Much of mage knowledge was lost this way,” Jax replied. “Especially anything about the ancient mage culture and history. Practically all of ancient mage culture was lost, and what little we know about their history that lead up to the war was only saved by the ones who managed to survive and passed it on. But then, all they could save were scraps. We may never know all of what happened. And that’s exactly the way they wanted it.”

“Humans are different now than their ancient predecessors,” Raya frowned, throwing a glance at Jackson, “but there are some things that never change, despite the passage of time. Most humans are far more accepting of monsters and mages than they were way back when. But their hunger for power and dominance still persists. So while some in mage circles are optimistic about the future, many are skeptical, and are keeping a watchful eye for the signs that another war will break out between monsters and humans, or mages and humans.”

“Mages nearly went extinct so long ago because half of us sided with humans. If we see the signs that another conflict is on the horizon…we will not make the same mistake twice. That one fact has been agreed upon by all mages.”

You shuddered, chilled by your siblings’ words. You had never been more ashamed to be human, despite coming from a family of mages. And that certainly explained why monsters were so wary of mages themselves. You felt a pit in your stomach from just how sick the new information made you.

“Jesus…guys, I…I’m so sorry…I never knew…”

“You didn’t have to. That’s why we never told you,” Raya said softly, reaching a hand out for you across the table. You laid your hand in hers, but for once, it didn’t comfort you like it should have. The guilt was just too much.

“Don’t feel too bad about it, ______,” Jax added from beside you, putting a hand on your shoulder. “You may not be a mage like us, but you’re not totally human, either. It’s our genetics, ______. You were too young to remember it clearly, but only one of our parents was actually a mage. Dad was human, like you. But he was a carrier of the mage gene, so there was a fifty-fifty shot when each of us was born that we’d be like Mom. Raya and I got lucky. You got her looks, we got the magic and the powers. But either way, you’re a carrier of the mage gene, so you’re more mage than human anyway, even if you can’t actually use magic.”

“So you see, baby sis? You’ve got nothing to be guilty for. You’re not like them. Never have been, never will be,” Raya threw in with a smile.

Well. The ancient sins crawling on your back suddenly lessened, and you felt immensely better. Leave it to your siblings to know exactly what was bothering you from only a few words. And leave it to them to know exactly what to do to make you feel better. You squeezed Raya’s hand before throwing your arms around Jackson with a sniff and nuzzling into his shoulder. They both chuckled, and somehow, you all ended up in a group hug until you squirmed in an effort to get out.

“Um…if anybody wants or needs some…there’s a stash of leftover J-candies Undyne made today in my room…”

You siblings laughed, but both passed on the sweets. Neither one of them had as big of a sweet tooth as you did, anyway. But you wanted to offer. A heavy topic like that? Of course you wanted to help them feel better if they needed it! You may be the baby of the family, but in many ways, you and Raya shared the role of the maternal figure.

Your thoughts (and the nice family moment you guys had going) was interrupted by your phone going off in your pocket. You glance at your siblings apologetically and they wave you off. This was about the time of day you all gathered in the den and watched TV (or at least pretended to) and just spent time together. As the other two moved to do just that, you check your phone while getting up from the table.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _I APOLOGIZE, HUMAN-FRIEND, FOR TAKING SO LONG TO REPLY! I WAS MAKING PAPY AND UNDYNE EAT SOMETHING FOR DINNER, RATHER THAN CONTINUING TO TALK. NOW BACK TO OUR TOPIC AT HAND! I WATCH QUITE A LOT OF ANIME WITH UNDYNE AND ALPHYS, SO I AM AWARE OF WHAT A SHIP IS, AND THUS A SHIPPING WAR. BUT WHY WOULD ALPHYS AND UNDYNE BE HAVING A SHIPPING WAR? AND I BELIEVE PAPYRUS’ EXACT WORDS WERE “FOR SOME REASON, MY SOUL’S BEEN.” BUT HE TRAILED OFF AFTER THAT AND WOULDN’T TELL ME ANYTHING ELSE. AND I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU ARE HARD TO FIGURE OUT. YOU ARE QUITE PLAIN AND HONEST TO ME, SO I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT EITHER. OH! AND YES! WE ARE GOOD FRIENDS WITH CHARA! CHARA AND I HAVE PLAYDATES AND SLEEPOVERS ALL THE TIME! PERHAPS WE CAN INTRODUCE YOU! THOUGH, SINCE YOU KNOW ALPHYS AND UNDYNE, I AM SURPRISED YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY MET CHARA. BUT DO NOT WORRY ABOUT OTHER HUMANS BEING UNKIND TO US. DESPITE NOT MEETING MANY, I KNOW THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD LIKE YOU AND CHARA AND YOUR SIBLINGS THAN THE ONES THAT AREN’T AS NICE TO US! BUT YOUR WORDS ARE KIND, NOBLE, AND JUST! I KNEW IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOU!! THOUGH I AM NOT SURE THAT ALL OF HUMANITY SUCKS. AFTER ALL, YOU ARE HUMAN, AND YOU DO NOT SUCK! AND…I WAS UNSURE IF YOU DID OR NOT. I UNDERSTAND WHY ALPHYS AND UNDYNE WOULD NOT WISH TO TALK ABOUT IT. NO MONSTER DOES, EVEN WHEN WE HAVE TO COVER IT IN SCHOOL. BUT EITHER WAY, PLEASE INFORM ME OF YOUR SIBLINGS’ ANSWERS WHEN YOU GET THEM._

Hoo boy, that was an answer. Sans didn’t even bother to break up his text. Okay. Welp, one step at a time, here, you thought as you made your way to the den to at least pretend to watch TV with your siblings.

**_You:_ ** _It’s ok, Sans. I was having dinner w/ my sibs anyway. Nbd, sweetie. & o. I guess I should hav figured, lol. But, um, ok, 2 explain the shipping war thing…Alphys & Undyne apparently hav a running bet on who’s going 2 win my <3 – u, or Papyrus. Undyne thinks it’s Papyrus, Alphys thinks it’s u. I’m just embarrassed, tbh._

**_You:_ ** _Back 2 Papyrus & the Soul thing, tho. That’s pretty weird. Like, wat? Wat has his Soul been doing? & wat does it hav 2 do w/ me??? It sounds like he doesn’t even kno…& ikr? I’m honest about like everything. Wat is there 2 figure out??_

**_You:_ ** _ & um, that’s a rly nice thought, sweetie, but…u remember how I said I’m rly shy? That’s y I’ve never met Chara b4. Undyne & Alphys hav said 4 a while that I need 2 meet sum of their other friends, but I just don’t kno if I could handle it. So they’ve never pushed me 2. That’s part of y we didn’t meet until yesterday, either. Bsides the fact that even Jax & Raya never met u guys?? Like, Jax has met every1 else, & Raya @ least knos a couple others, but…I’ve literally not met any1 else. It takes a while 4 me 2 work up 2 that sort of thing. Sry, sweetie. :/_

**_You:_ ** _ & of course I’m gonna worry about ppl bing unkind 2 u! U’re my friends, & I don’t like it when ppl are mean 2 my friends. Even if I’m a scaredy cat who can’t actually do anything about it…it still sucks! & that’s a great view 2 hav, Sans. :) U’re right, there r more nice ppl than mean 1s anymore. & u’re 2 sweet & precious! Thnx 4 the vote of confidence, sweetie! U’re 2 much! <3_

**_You:_ ** _Now, back 2 the elephant in the room…I actually asked Jax & Raya @ dinner about the history of mages & monsters. It’s kind of…I was shocked, 2 put it mildly. But hearing it from the mages’ standpoint is entirely different than wat u’re thinking of, I’m sure, so…maybe u should tell me things from the monsters’ side, just so I kno. Having both sides of the story is a good thing, after all. O, but I totally understand if u don’t want 2! Plz, don’t feel like u hav 2 tell me anything if it makes u uncomfortable, Sans!_

With all that out of the way, you sigh and settle on the couch. When you get funny looks from your siblings, you toss your phone in their direction (they were sitting side by side), and wait for them to read through your messages with Sans.

“Wow,” Raya commented when she tossed it back, Jackson nodding in agreement. “That’s…like a lot to be talking about.”

“Yeah, well…somehow, it devolved from letting Sans and Papyrus know I was okay, even though I didn’t answer my phone all day, to…this. But I’m sure we’ll get things settled eventually.”

Both your siblings nodded, then turned back to the TV, getting absorbed pretty quickly. You got really into it too – what could you say? You loved _Supernatural_. Charlie was by far your favorite character. Though Kevin, Bobby, Jo, Ellen, and Crowley were all pretty high on your list too. But your concentration was pulled away from your favorite hunters when your phone went off next to you. Probably Sans again. Should you just ignore it and keep watching? Oh, the temptation…you sigh to yourself after another few seconds and tear your eyes from the screen to check the text.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _AH, I SEE. THAT IS…MOST INTERESTING. AND TROUBLING. I WOULD SPEAK TO THEM, BUT THERE IS NO CONVINCING THEM OF OTHERWISE WHEN THEY HAVE DECIDED ON A SHIP. IT IS TOO BAD THAT ONE OF THEM WILL HAVE TO BE DISAPPOINTED! AS FOR MY BROTHER AND HIS SOUL, I AGREE, IT IS MOST STRANGE. BUT AS HE STILL WILL NOT GIVE ME AN ANSWER, THERE IS NOTHING ELSE I CAN TELL YOU AT THIS TIME, FRIEND! MY APOLOGIES!! AND YES, YOU REALLY ARE QUITE HONEST. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HIM SOMETIMES. AND YOU ARE RIGHT. I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOUR SHYNESS, AND IT DOES MAKE SENSE THEN THAT YOU HAVE NOT MET ANY OF THE OTHERS FROM OUR FRIEND GROUP! BUT YOU ARE CORRECT ABOUT YOUR SIBLINGS! ALPHYS AND UNDYNE HAVE BEEN PESTERING US FOR SOME TIME TO MEET YOU – OR AT LEAST, YOUR SIBLINGS – BUT WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FAR TOO BUSY! AND JACKSON HAS INDEED MET EVERYONE ELSE IN OUR FRIEND GROUP! RAYA HAS ONLY MET CHARA AND LORD ASGORE, AS FAR AS I KNOW. BUT ALPHYS AND UNDYNE HAVEN’T BEEN PESTERING HER AS MUCH AS US, HAVE THEY?! I CAN IMAGINE SHE IS FAR BUSIER THAN WE ARE!! AND DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO APOLOGIZE, FRIEND! I HAD SIMPLY FORGOTTEN, AND IF IT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE TO BE AROUND SO MANY PEOPLE, THEN YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR TIME MEETING EVERYONE!! THOUGH SURELY MEETING PAPYRUS AND MYSELF WILL HELP THAT ALONG! AND IT IS YOU WHO IS TOO MUCH, FRIEND!! YOU ARE VERY KIND, AND I AM QUITE GLAD TO KNOW YOU!! NOW…YES, YOU ARE QUITE RIGHT. I WAS NOT ANTICIPATING THAT YOU WOULD BE GETTING ONLY THE MAGES’ SIDE OF THINGS IF YOU ASKED YOUR SIBLINGS. I DID NOT THINK OF THAT. AND WHILE IT IS NOT A PLEASANT THING TO TALK ABOUT, I WILL GIVE YOU THE MONSTERS’ SIDE OF HISTORY BETWEEN THE TWO. YOU HAVE EVER RIGHT TO KNOW, AND IT IS WISE OF YOU TO TRY TO SEE THINGS FROM ALL AVAILABLE ANGLES. I WILL DO MY BEST TO EXPLAIN. BUT PERHAPS IT WOULD BE BETTER IF I EXPLAINED IT OVER THE PHONE? WRITING OUT EVERYTHING WOULD TAKE A VERY LONG TIME._

Good lord, Sans…someone needed to teach this skeleton how to break up his texts. But you could do this. (Even if his message did send as a picture message from just how much he had to say.)

**_You:_ ** _Lol, yeah, I kno. & honestly, not that sry. Their fault 4 shipping real ppl. I mean, their shipping sum of their friends 2gether! It’s kinda weird._

**_You:_ ** _ & don’t worry about getting me an answer from Papyrus. I’m sure he’ll tell 1 of us when he’s ready. Even if he IS bing weird about it rn, lol_

**_You:_ ** _It’s cool. I don’t mind u 4got. I’ll remind u when u do 4get, so no worries, sweetie. & I knew that Jax had met every1 else…but Raya never told me she met Chara! & omg, isn’t Asgore the king of monsters?? Argh! Wat is it w/ ppl not telling me things?! Anyway, no, I don’t think Alphys & Undyne hav been pestering her about meeting the others that much. They kno she’s super busy w/ her crazy work hrs…or, she was. Her work wasn’t gonna let her come home 2 check on me yesterday, & they threatened 2 fire her if she walked out. Instead, she quit. It’s kind of a mess rn._

**_You:_ ** _Aww! Sans, u’re 2 sweet, u precious lil cinnamon roll! <3 Thnx 4 saying that. U rly kno how 2 make a girl smile. :)_

**_You:_ ** _ & yeah, u can totally explain over a phone call instead! Just give me a bit b4 u call – spending sum family time w/ my sibs rn, so I’ll txt u when we’re done. U can call me then, k? & I rly appreciate u doing this, Sans. U rly r magnificent!_

You toss your phone down and concentrate on the episode again, happy to see your long distraction had gone unnoticed. Aw, shit. Now you were totally lost, though! But you didn’t want to ask your siblings to rewind the episode for you…you figured you’d just wait and watch it again on your own later. Not like you were that far behind anyway. Eventually, your phone goes off again (ugh, you’re so close to the end of the episode, dammit!), then Raya’s text tone rings out a couple seconds later. All of you look surprised, but you’re too busy with your phone to be nosy about who was texting Raya.

**_Blue Wonder:_ ** _I SUPPOSE IT IS A LITTLE WEIRD. BUT THAT IS JUST HOW THEY ARE! AND I QUITE AGREE ABOUT PAPYRUS, THOUGH I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE AN ANSWER SOONER RATHER THAN LATER! PERHAPS YOUR SISTER DID NOT TELL YOU ABOUT MEETING CHARA AND LORD ASGORE BECAUSE IT DID NOT COME UP? BUT THAT IS GOOD THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN BOTHERING HER AS MUCH! ALAS, WHAT TROUBLING NEWS!! I DO HOPE SHE IS OKAY!! IT IS NOT AN EASY THING TO LOSE A JOB, OR FIND A NEW ONE SOMETIMES! I WILL TEXT HER NEXT TO MAKE SURE SHE IS OKAY! AND THAT IS VERY KIND OF YOU TO SAY!! THOUGH I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE KEEP CALLING ME A CINNAMON ROLL. BUT NO ONE WILL EXPLAIN IT TO ME WHEN I ASK THEM…AH, I WAS NOT AWARE YOU WERE STILL BUSY!! I AM VERY SORRY FOR INTRUDING UPON YOUR TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!! PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS, REPLY TO ME WHEN YOU ARE AVAILIBLE TO DO SO!! WE CAN DISCUSS THE REST OF THIS OVER THE PHONE LATER!_

Well, at least it was somewhat shorter. But just as you put your phone down (you were more than happy to ignore the text for the moment), you glance over at Raya, and she’s glaring at you. You give her a puzzled look.

“Sans texted me. Wanted to know if I’m okay and ‘in need of any kind of assistance in my time of need.’ What the hell did you tell him?”

“Oh…aww, he’s so sweet…I mentioned you quit your job to come home and check on me yesterday, and he wanted to make sure you were okay. He said he’d text you once he finished texting me…”

“So he’s worried about me because I lost my job?”

“He said, and I quote: ‘Alas, what troubling news!! I do hope she is okay!! It is not an easy thing to lose a job, or find a new one sometimes! I will text her next to make sure she is okay!’”

“Oh. Oh…aww…that’s sweet of him to worry!”

“I know!”

“Will you both hush? Raya, rewind it. I didn’t hear like any of what was just said.”

You and your sister laugh lightly at Jackson’s irritation with your talking over the episode, but Raya complied, rewinding the episode for him before going back to her phone with a smile. She was clearly about to reply to Sans, so you just smiled to yourself and returned to watching the show. By the time the episode was over, Raya had been texting Sans for a few minutes, smiling almost non-stop. You had to smile to yourself. Raya generally wasn’t a smiley person, even if she did smile a lot for you, Jackson, and work. To see her smiling this much was really nice, and you felt a great well of joy bubble forth in your heart. (And you’d be lying if you didn’t feel the tiniest bit like a hypocrite now – because you may or may not have started to ship Raya with Sans.)

You jumped up before Jackson could start the next episode.

“Hey, I’ve gotta call Sans and work on a thing. Okay?”

Raya hummed in response, too preoccupied with her phone to have actually heard what you said. (And you knew she was still talking to Sans. Cute!) Jackson, though, did pay attention to you, and turned to look at you with a slightly teasing smile.

“Aw, ducking out on us after only one episode? You’re losing your nerdy edge, sis.”

You puffed up at that. You couldn’t help it. Your nerdy title was on the line! But Jackson laughed, letting you off the hook.

“Yeah, you’re free to go. Don’t worry, we’ll switch it over to something you don’t like in the meantime. _American Horror Story_ , here we come.”

You shudder and make a face, snatching your phone from the couch and dashing out of the room. You just couldn’t get behind that one, no matter how good everyone else said it was. There were some things even you had to draw the line at when it came to pop culture.

Once you made it to at least past the kitchen, you text Sans, half-heartedly thinking that _he_ probably didn’t watch _American Horror Story_.

**_You:_ ** _Hey. U’re good 2 call me now. Can’t stand the show my sibs r watching, so I escaped their clutches, lol._

You’re two steps from reaching your bed when your phone starts blaring your standard ringtone, _Carry On My Wayward Son_ , by the band Kansas. Sue you for being a huge nerd for both an awesome song, and for _Supernatural_. You’d have to find a special ringtone for Sans. (Why hadn’t you done that already? Oh yeah, busy all day long.)

“Yellow?” you answer.

“hey, ______.”


	6. The Boondock Saints Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _I wasn't trying to make a posting schedule of once a month, I swear._ Also, still not planning on sticking to a posting schedule, so hopefully I can remember to post the next one a little sooner. Anyway, enjoy, guys!

Oh, you were glad you hadn’t given a Sans-specific greeting. You’d have to find a Papyrus-specific ringtone too, now that you were thinking about it. (Again, why had this not been top priority earlier?)

“Oh! H-hey! I…was not expecting you to be calling me,” you admit instantly, cringing. At least you hadn’t blurted that you were expecting Sans. That would have been worse.

“that’s because my little shit of a brother passed on the responsibility of calling you to me. said something about being busy texting someone and that i needed to talk to you anyway.”

“O-oh. That…makes sense, actually,” you giggle, thinking how sweet Sans was. He was trying to patch up things between you and Papyrus, even after you told him not to worry about it! All while keeping tabs with Raya. Cutie! Your ship was going strong! (You decide to berate yourself for thinking that later.) “He’s talking to my sister. I told him – wait, do you actually know about Raya?”

“uhh…at the risk of sounding insensitive, what about her?”

You quickly explain, and Papyrus makes an appropriate noise of sympathy.

“Yeah. And when I told Sans, he jumped on the chance to talk to her. They’ve been going back and forth for a while now. Honestly, I’ve never seen Raya smile this much. I’m kind of really happy about it.”

“heh. yeah, sans seems pretty happy from this end, too. i was wondering why he was smiling more than usual. little chick magnet that he is…”

“Hey!” you scold, laughing. You hear Papyrus chuckling on the other end.

“it’s true. shockingly enough. like, he doesn’t act on it at all, but if he wanted to…he could be a real player. glad to see i raised him better than that.”

“Oh, you raised Sans? Makes sense that you’re the older brother. And that’s actually really cool. It takes a lot of courage and strength to raise your siblings. Respect.”

There was a pause on the other end before you think you hear Papyrus chuckle again.

“right. forgot you’re not like most humans. your siblings raised you, too, right?”

“Yeah. We…we lost our parents when Jax was a teenager, and before Raya even hit preteen years. I was really little at the time, so I don’t remember much of our life before it was just the three of us. So I know a thing or two about having your siblings raise you.”

There was a palpable pause. One where part of you wanted to ask what had happened to his parents for it to just be him and Sans…but considering your own past and story of losing your parents, you knew better. Part of you had a feeling Papyrus was thinking the same thing. After all…time may heal all wounds, but that didn’t make it a very good healer.

“So, um…” you start, trying to shift the loaded silence to something else. “Did Sans tell you why he was supposed to call me?”

“here, let me see if i can remember this right…’brother, have you talked to ______ yet?’ ‘no. been busy talking to undyne all evening. you know that.’ ‘well, you need to talk to her! she has been waiting patiently for you to reply to her text so that you two can talk and make up! she believes you’re angry with her and that you just need time to calm down, but i know better! stop ignoring her!’ which, for the record, i still haven’t checked my texts, so if that was you that texted me earlier, i haven’t seen it yet. that’s why i haven’t replied. i wasn’t purposely ignoring you. and i told him that. but he just huffed at me and pointed to my phone and ordered me to call you. ‘i have important texts to deal with right now, so i cannot call her like i promised. you must do it for me!’ he said. that’s all i got before he marched off to go text…apparently raya…in peace.”

You snort, trying not to laugh by the end. Papyrus’ impression of Sans could use some work, but it was pretty funny. Eventually, you dissolve into giggles however. You do feel bad for accidentally ignoring Papyrus’ texts earlier in the day, but he didn’t sound like he minded terribly right now.

“So basically, no,” you finally manage through your laughter. Papyrus is chuckling on the other end of the line.

“yeah, no. and we do need to talk about you answering your phone.”

Yeah, you were expecting that. You’re still giggling, but it’s a little more sheepish now.

“Yeah, about that…if you can, go ahead and check that text I sent you. Sans got the same one.”

There’s a pause as Papyrus sighs and checks his messages, reading over the text.

“oh,” you hear distantly, the mic of his phone barely picking him up. It’s hard to tell from how low the volume is when he says it, but you think his tone is…slightly apologetic? But there’s something else, too, that you can’t place…he pops back into clarity while you’re thinking about it, causing you to jump.

“yeah, undyne – you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Just lost in thought when you started talking. Startled me,” you reply, your laugh breathy and light.

“oh. my bad. guess i shouldn’t make the baited breath comment, eh? heh heh heh.”

You snort an actual laugh this time and grin, remembering his text from earlier in the day.

“Anyway, you were saying? About Undyne?”

“right. she explained that you were so preoccupied with her and alphys all day, you essentially ignored you phone. sorry i, uh, kinda blew up at you. you just had me really worried, kid.”

“Oh…yeah, no, it was my bad. It’d go off, and I’d tell myself, ‘I can get it in a minute,’ and then I’d forget it even went off in the first place. When I really get in the zone, everything else just kinda…falls away. Happens a lot, actually.”

Papyrus hummed in response, and there was a pause. You weren’t sure what to say, and weren’t really expecting Papyrus to say anything, but it felt a little awkward to sit there in silence, so you finally piped up.

“Uh, Papyrus?”

“huh? oh! uh, yeah, wazzup? sorry, lost in thought for a minute.”

You giggle, unable to help yourself. He sure sounded embarrassed about something…

“Um, if you’re busy, I can just wait for Sans to get done texting Raya…” you grin, making it very clear in your tone that you were teasing. Papyrus seemed to flounder for a second as you laugh on your end of the call. Finally, he seemed to recover.

“nah, i’m good! not busy! totally not distracted anymore! we can talk all you want, ______,” he said in a bit of a rush. You try to stifle your laughter at the poor skeleton’s expense. Thinking of the topic at hand is a quick buzz kill, and you sober up faster than you thought you would.

“Okay, good. Because…um…what I needed to talk to Sans about was kind of a really heavy topic.”

“what’s up?”

“Um…well, he was trying to explain to me why you might be…less than trusting of me and my siblings. And he asked if I knew anything about the history of monsters and mages. I didn’t, so I asked my siblings. But I also wanted to have both sides of the story, so…I asked Sans to tell me about it from the monsters’ perspective. Oh, and by the way, knowing what I do now, even if it’s just from the mages’ point of view – I totally don’t blame you for being so cautious and skeptical. It…we…” you trail off with a sigh, not sure how to word what you want to say. Other than that everything back then apparently sucked ass.

“Anyway, that’s…what we were gonna talk about. Oh, and some other stuff, but I’d have to go back through my messages to see what that was. I kind of forgot by now what the rest of it was.”

Papyrus gave a weak chuckle from his side (most likely about your forgetfulness), but fell silent pretty quickly. You stay quiet as well, waiting for him to say something.

“yeah, uh…if you didn’t have my attention before, you sure would now. that’s…monster history isn’t really a topic anyone likes very much. you sure this is something you want to get into?”

“Well, I’ve already gotten this far. Might as well just go for it. ‘No guts, no glory, green beans.’”

“what?”

“Uh, movie reference. Huge freakin’ nerd, remember?”

“what movie was that?”

“ _Boondock Saints 2_.”

“huh. never heard of it.”

“Not surprised. It’s kind of out there. Falls a bit under the cult category, but it’s more of an action flick. Guns, vigilantes, the mafia, lots of blood, lots of destruction, Irish dudes – it’s freakin’ awesome. You should check out both movies if you get the chance.”

“there’s only two?”

“Yep. Lots of rumors and speculation for when they’re gonna start on the third movie – because two _totally_ set it up for a sequel – but no actual word yet. The entire fanbase is always super pumped about it, though. Anyway, we got really off topic.”

“yeah, we did. but i’ll try to look into them when i get the chance. what’d you say the movies were called?”

“ _The Boondock Saints_. First movie is just that. Second one also has ‘all saints day’ in the title, but anyone that knows the movies just knows them as one and two.”

“alright, cool. i’ll check it out. anyway. back to the whole monster history thing.”

“Right. Just, um…don’t feel like you have to spare me anything. Unless you actually just don’t want to talk about it. Because I totally understand and wouldn’t judge if you didn’t want to talk about something.”

A brief pause, then a sigh from Papyrus.

“hope you’re comfy. this might take a bit.”

“So did the mages’ side of the story. I kind of asked over dinner.”

“ouch.”

“Tell me about it.”

“welp, here goes nothing, i guess. so, a long time ago – like centuries ago – humans and monsters used to live in peace.”

“Right. I got that part. Then one day, war broke out between the humans and the monsters, right?”

“yep. to this day, only the oldest monsters remember what actually caused it, and most of them are pretty tight lipped about it. no one really knows if it was the monsters’ fault or the humans. back in the underground, most speculation was on the humans. no offense.”

“None taken. Most of us are pretty shitty, and from what I hear, it was worse way back when. Now the next part…the monsters lost the war because, even though the monsters had magic, the humans were just stronger, right?”

“yeah. ya know, it’s starting to sound like you should be the one giving the history lesson, here.”

“No, no! Sorry! I-I just…didn’t want you to have repeat anything I already knew…”

“’s alright. you’re just trying not to waste both of our time here. i get that. anyway, you’ve got it right. monsters lost, and when the last of our number went to the mountain for shelter, it seemed like the humans weren’t going to follow us. we thought we were safe…until the seven mages came. the remaining monsters watched the mages literally pour their Souls into creating the barrier, killing themselves in the process. no one knew or understood what was happening at the time, but it was that moment that we were trapped inside mt. ebott.

“but you were wanting to hear about monster _and_ mages, right? well, the long and short of it is this – according to one of the pre-war monsters i knew down in the underground, we actually had mage allies in the war. at first, they tried to play it real hands-off, but when they got involved, the war split ‘em right down the middle. those that sided with us were mostly the more open-minded and kinder mages, ones that had a soft spot for monsters. according to this same source, we also had a handful of human allies, too. but…the monster never said what happened to either of ‘em. just that none of them made it to the mountain with us when monsters lost the war.

“the last interaction with mages we had was when the seven created the barrier. after that, we were stuck in the underground until the kid broke the barrier. sorry; when i say the kid, i mean –”

“The monster ambassador, Chara, right?”

“yeah, good guess.”

“Not a guess. Alphys and Undyne have kinda been low-key pushing me to meet the rest of you guys’ friends for a while now, including Chara. Then Sans was talking about knowing Chara, and turns out Raya _and_ Jax have already met them…I’m the odd man out, here,” you sigh heavily, shifting on your bed to lay on your back, phone still pressed to your ear. You hear Papyrus chuckle.

“sounds like them. i’m surprised they’ve kept it low-key, though. well –”

“Alphys?”

“yeah.”

You laugh lightly.

“There for a while, Undyne had to remind her daily about my shyness, just so she _would_ keep it low-key. Now, she doesn’t even need to think about it. She just knows when she’s pushing my limits for how much I can handle and tones it down accordingly. She’s basically become one of my siblings. Only louder. And with no concept of personal space.”

Papyrus was really laughing on his end now – probably from the idea of Alphys basically being another sister to you. You couldn’t help a smile of your own.

“yeah, that’s basically alphys.”

“You should have heard how I described her yesterday morning. Jax came into the kitchen, and he was really tired, so I asked if Alphys had kept him busy. He told me that she didn’t know the meaning of the words ‘low-key’ or ‘take it slow’. I said I wasn’t surprised. I said, ‘She’s a tank, Jax. Tanks only have two modes: calm, and raining down hell upon thine enemies.’”

That seemed to do it for him, because he was seriously cracking up now. You were grinning and laughing right along with him. Yeah, you cracked yourself up sometimes. But apparently not as much as Papyrus.

“oh stars above, you have no idea how true that is!” he finally wheezed.

“She’s been my brother’s sparring partner for…what, three-and-a-half, four years now? And _I_ don’t know how true that is. That’s rich,” you retort, and that sends you both into another fit of laughter.

After a minute, you both settle down, and there’s a beat of comfortable silence. Then you hear him sigh.

“so, i take it you know there’s more monster history than just that little bit i gave you.”

“I figured as much.”

“do you wanna hear it?”

“Sure. Really, the more I know at this point, the better. Like I said. I’ve heard things from the mages’ side. I wanna hear the monsters’ side of things.”

“alright then.”

Papyrus then launches into a much longer tale about how the monsters settled the Underground, the stories about what had happened with Asgore and Toriel and their kids, and how the Core was built (whoa, he’s a super science nerd – and the idea of him as a scientist pops into your head. Damn…scientist would be a good look for him. You shake it off and try to focus on what he’s saying). Apparently, though, there wasn’t much more to tell, because Papyrus ends up trailing off after that.

“Wow. There’s so much I didn’t know…I mean, I get it – part of why is because I’m a shy little twat who can’t deal with people, and part of it is because the few monsters I do know, I’ve never bothered to ask them this sort of thing, but I’m still gonna say it. Why is it people don’t feel the need to tell me stuff like this?!”

Papyrus chuckled at your dramatic outrage. You end up sighing and start to change the subject when he speaks at the same time. You laugh together, and he insists you go ahead.

“I was just going to change the subject.”

“what to?”

“Well, I was gonna ask about all that science stuff you were talking about. Like with the Core? You sounded super into it. I was just wondering what you do for your job – like, does it have anything to do with that?”

Papyrus snorted sharply.

“hell no. i work in an electronics shop. it’s a decent use of my skills, but not anything close to any of that stuff.”

“Oh. Well, what did you do in the Underground? I mean, i-if it’s not –”

“it’s fine. the underground’s not a really sensitive topic for me or anything. for a while, i worked as a scientist on the core. but after this lab accident, i ended up leaving and becoming a sentry in snowdin forest with sans.”

“Oh. Um…”

“you wanna ask about the accident, right?”

“…kinda. But I don’t want to make you talk about anything you don’t want to. I mean, feel free to tell me to shut the hell up at any time,” you quickly throw out there, more than willing to give him an out if he needs it. Lord knows you have plenty of things you don’t like talking about. He wasn’t prying into your business, so it was only fair you left his alone too…if he didn’t feel like sharing, that is. He seemed pretty open to you, though. You start to get sidetracked over Alphys’ previous assessment about it being impossible to get anything from him he didn’t want you to know…

“you’re fine. i mean, it’s not something i’d like to talk about right now, but you’re fine. you at least have the decency to ask if it’s a boundary or not before you cross it.”

You breathe a sigh of relief, glad you weren’t overstepping any bounds with him.

“Okay. I won’t ask, then. But you mind if I ask something else?”

“fire away.”

“If you’re so into science and – just a guess here – you really liked being a scientist before, why not try to get that up here? I mean, you have a degree, right?”

“technically, yeah. in the underground, i held a doctorate. but it’s not the same up here.”

“Maybe not, but Undyne got her degree accredited. You could get yours, too! And then you could be a scientist again. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“heh…i guess so. but i don’t know that i have the time or money for that right now.”

You pause. Sometimes, you legit forgot money problems were a thing.

“Oh. Well…maybe you could ask Undyne what she did to get hers accredited. I mean, she had to be in the same boat once, right? And if you ever needed it, I’d be happy to help out any way I could, too.”

Papyrus was silent for a bit, and you started to wonder if maybe you said something wrong.

“you’re really too kind for your own good. you know that, right?”

You chuckle wistfully at his words. If you had a nickel for every time someone had said something like that to you…

“Yeah. I know. Doesn’t stop me, though. Just keep it in mind, okay?”

“…yeah. will do, ______.”

You smile, a deep happiness permeating your being. Now, maybe a bit of a lighter topic…?

“So, uh…what was it you were going to say earlier?”

“huh? oh, right. uh, i was gonna ask about the other stuff you and sans were gonna talk about.”

“Oh, that,” you laugh. “Yeah, hang on a sec. I honestly don’t remember everything we were talking about. Oh, but I do remember one thing – for the love of god, someone please teach that boy how to break up his overly massive texts.”

You hear Papyrus cracking up again on the other end as you pull the phone away from your ear and swap the screen over to your messages without ending the call.

 **_You:_ ** _Lol, yeah, I kno. & honestly, not that sry. Their fault 4 shipping real ppl. I mean, their shipping sum of their friends 2gether! It’s kinda weird._

 **_You:_ ** _ & don’t worry about getting me an answer from Papyrus. I’m sure he’ll tell 1 of us when he’s ready. Even if he IS b-ing weird about it rn, lol_

 **_You:_ ** _It’s cool. I don’t mind u 4got. I’ll remind u when u do 4get, so no worries, sweetie. & I knew that Jax had met everyone else…but Raya never told me she met Chara! & omg, isn’t Asgore the king of monsters?? Argh! Wat is it w/ ppl not telling me things?! Anyway, no, I don’t think Alphys & Undyne have been pestering her about meeting the others that much. They kno she’s super busy w/ her crazy work hrs…or, she was. Her work wasn’t gonna let her come home 2 check on me yesterday, & they threatened 2 fire her if she walked out. Instead, she quit. It’s kind of a mess rn._

 **_You:_ ** _Aww! Sans, u’re 2 sweet, u precious lil cinnamon roll! <3 Thnx 4 saying that. U rly kno how to make a girl smile. :)_

 **_You:_ ** _ & yeah, u can totally explain over a phone call instead! Just give me a bit b4 u call – spending sum family time w/ my sibs rn, so I’ll txt u when we’re done. U can call me then, k? & I really appreciate u doing this, Sans. U rly r magnificent!_

 **_Blue Wonder:_ ** _I SUPPOSE IT IS A LITTLE WEIRD. BUT THAT IS JUST HOW THEY ARE! AND I QUITE AGREE ABOUT PAPYRUS, THOUGH I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE AN ANSWER SOONER RATHER THAN LATER! PERHAPS YOUR SISTER DID NOT TELL YOU ABOUT MEETING CHARA AND LORD ASGORE BECAUSE IT DID NOT COME UP? BUT THAT IS GOOD THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN BOTHERING HER AS MUCH! ALAS, WHAT TROUBLING NEWS!! I DO HOPE SHE IS OKAY!! IT IS NOT AN EASY THING TO LOSE A JOB, OR FIND A NEW ONE SOMETIMES! I WILL TEXT HER NEXT TO MAKE SURE SHE IS OKAY! AND THAT IS VERY KIND OF YOU TO SAY!! THOUGH I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE KEEP CALLING ME A CINNAMON ROLL. BUT NO ONE WILL EXPLAIN IT TO ME WHEN I ASK THEM…AH, I WAS NOT AWARE YOU WERE STILL BUSY!! I AM VERY SORRY FOR INTRUDING UPON YOUR TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!! PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS, REPLY TO ME WHEN YOU ARE AVAILIBLE TO DO SO!! WE CAN DISCUSS THE REST OF THIS OVER THE PHONE LATER!_

Right. It would be a bit of a bitch to try to read these with your phone pressed to your head, so you go back to the call and hit speaker before switching back to the messages.

“Okay, here we go. Had to put you on speaker for a minute. Okay, the top of the list…the weird shipping war Alphys and Undyne have going on over you, me, and Sans.”

“geez…right, almost forgot about that. uh, what is there to discuss?”

“Nothing, really. Other than it’s weird they’re shipping real people together, and this is probably the one thing I’ll ever even low-key judge them for.”

Papyrus chuckled, agreeing with you. You then decided to skip the second item in the texts (since it was about Papyrus himself – embarrassing!) and move on to the third.

“Um, then there’s me going on about Jax having already met literally everyone from you guys’ friend group, and Raya having only met Chara and Asgore…and me bitching about people not telling me things again…wow, common theme there, huh? And then me telling Sans about Raya quitting…Sans replied with that Raya might not have told me about Chara and Asgore because it just never came up. Which I could totally see, but it’s still annoying A-F. Um, not really much to talk about there. Oh, then I told Sans he was a sweet lil cinnamon roll for something he said that made me smile, to which _he_ said, ‘Though I do not understand why people keep calling me a cinnamon roll. But no one will explain it to me when I ask them…’” You can’t help giggling sweetly at that. “I was actually just going to explain to him about the cinnamon roll thing there.”

“ah. about time someone did. he’ll hate what it means, but he’ll love it that you actually gave him an answer instead of brushing it off or deflecting or something.”

“I figured. But why is it such a problem in the first place if he knows he’s a little cinnamon roll?”

“because he hates being thought of as cute. he knows how difficult it is for people to take him seriously, so he does everything he can to not be thought of as cute.”

“Oh, that never works! It only ends up making you cuter. I know. I’ve done the same thing. Curse my being so small and petite!” you add, shaking your fist dramatically at the ceiling. You hear Papyrus stifling laughter on the other end. “Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up, ya freakin’ giant. I hear you over there. You ain’t sly.”

Papyrus loses it over that, and you’re grinning despite yourself. Now that you’ve sufficiently tickled his funny bone (oh, you’d have to remember that one to tell him later), you decide to move on to the next topic.

“Anyway, next thing. Um…oh, here we go. Ah, that was just me telling him that I didn’t mind if he called me about the monster/mage history thing. I was telling him that I was spending some family time with Jax and Raya right then and I’d let him know when it was safe to call me. He apologized for interrupting – which, he wasn’t, sweet little thing – and said that we could talk more when he called.”

“ah. what were you guys doing?”

“Watching _Supernatural_.”

“bunch of freakin’ nerds, the lot of ya,” he chuckled, and you grinned.

“But none as nerdy as me!~” you reply in a sing-song voice, then add, “Besides, my internet persona is called ‘FoxyNerd’ for a reason. And not because I was trying to be clever and say that I was a really attractive nerd. I’ve had the channel and all that since, like, middle school, and I was thinking about the fact that I like foxes when I named it. It just ended up sticking.”

“well, to be fair, it’s not an _unfortunate_ name,” Papyrus answered, and you giggled. He was right, but for some reason, it felt like he was trying to flirt with you…

“You’re not wrong,” you shrug, grinning anyway. Maybe he wasn’t trying to flirt. You really didn’t want to assume. After all, talking to him was actually starting to feel pretty normal now. This was still the “trying not to scare off the potential friend” stage. And you really didn’t want to mess this up.

“heh. so, anything else you wanna talk about, then?”

You hum in thought, trying to think of something that would hold the skeleton’s interest.

“Oh! One of my videos I’m posting tomorrow will be for _Amnesia_.”

“really? sweet. don’t tell me anything else. i wanna see it for myself.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I was just giving you a heads up. I actually recorded it before I ended up going out to the store yesterday and just haven’t edited it yet. The other video will be a new one I’ll record tomorrow after editing the _Amnesia_ one. Haven’t decided what I’m gonna record yet, but we’ll see.”

“looking forward to it, ______.”

Your heart gives an involuntary excited flutter to hear him say that (didn’t you tell that stupid thing to stop that earlier?), and you finally notice your cheeks are getting sore from all the smiling you’ve been doing. Quick, think of something to say back!

“G-glad! Um, that you’re excited, that is.”

Shit. That couldn’t have been less smooth if you were made of sandpaper. You blush and cringe at yourself, because dammit, what was it about this guy that had you turning into such a mess?! But he chuckled, so you guessed your comment went over well.

“hey, uh…it’s getting kinda late, and i gotta get sans tucked in, so…”

“Oh! Yeah, no, go ahead. I’ve kept you up long enough. Sorry. I’ll, uh…I’ll talk to you soon.”

“…yeah. see ya.”

You’re blushing again by the time you hang up. You could have sworn when he said he had to go that he’d sounded disappointed, and just as awkward as you when he said goodbye. But that could have been your imagination. Ugh, maybe Alphys and Undyne’s shipping thing was starting to get to you. Reading way too much into his words and freaking _tone_ when he talked to you…you decided not to tell Undyne about any of this conversation just yet. She’d read into it even more than you had, and lord knows you didn’t need “shipper” Undyne right now.

You sighed and rolled around on your bed for a minute after you dropped you phone onto your bedside table, but when your laptop and tablet sitting together on their charging cables catches your eye, you remember what you were doing earlier. You grin as the spark of inspiration hits you all over again, snatching up your two electronics and working well into the night on the _Okami_ -inspired piece.


	7. The Okami Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _TRIGGER WARNING AHEAD!!!!!!!!!_** This is the chapter that has the attempted rape/non-con and, so if that is something that is a hard pass for you, you'll want to skip the very end of the chapter. I'll mark it with a line of exclamation points for skip-ablility with a summary of the section, and a summary of the section in the end notes.
> 
> Now all that said, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! -S

You woke up (far too early – thanks Zephyr) the next morning actually feeling more refreshed than you have in a while. The long phone call with Papyrus evidently did more than you realized to boost your spirits. First thing you did after going down and doing your morning routine with Zephyr and Jax (it was weird for both of you not to have Raya there, too) was make some food. Staying up so late last night made you unbelievably hungry – though you made great progress on the _Okami_ piece, so you didn’t complain.

One spinach, cheese, and mushroom omelet (and shower) later, you were sitting in front of your computer, determined to do the editing for the _Amnesia_ video you’d recorded. Between editing it, you updated some of your social media feeds, running your idle games in the background just because. (You always shut them off when you recorded, though. You wanted everything to run at top speed and performance when you were recording, so having extra stuff running in the background was never a good idea.) Once the video was ready, you posted it, pleased with the way it turned out. Now, time to decide what to record for the new video!

That is, until a knock came at your door. You started to glance over your shoulder, but instead had to turn back and pull your headphones off first, putting them down before swiveling your chair around to see who it was. Raya flashed you a small smile before entering, since you’d left the door open.

“Hey. Wanted to let you know I was up and about to head out. I’m going out looking for paper apps to do and junk, so I’ll text you when I’m headed back.”

“Got it, sis,” you smile back, and she looks relieved to see that you’re back to your usual self. You can’t really blame her for that. When things got crazy, you did have a tendency to push the limits of what you could tolerate.

“Well, hey, before I go…mind if I…?”

“Check my Soul? Sure. Jax did this morning, but you’re still welcome to,” you reply.

Yeah, you knew it was weird to be this casual about letting someone else look at or handle your Soul. But yours had extensive damage from something that had happened to you growing up, so you knew your siblings only asked from a medical standpoint, rather than the usual reasons of calling it out to fight or for intimacy. And yes, you knew about the other meanings – your siblings made sure of that when monsters came back to the surface – but you’d never had to deal with either one before. Luckily enough. You weren’t good in a confrontation. And the whole intimacy thing…well…you’d never even been with a human, let alone a mage or monster capable of handling your Soul. So there was that. But that was a thought for another day.

You make sure you’re good and comfy in your chair before nodding to Raya, signaling you were ready for her to draw out your Soul. She nodded back, then came over and placed her hand to your chest, making a come-hither motion as she pulled it away.

Despite how many times you’d done this, or the fact that you were always prepared when it happened, you always shivered when your Soul slid out of your chest. It was such a strange feeling, you just couldn’t help it. But when she brought it out, you also always involuntarily looked down at it, the little heart in front of you glowing sure and steady as it always did. You smiled at your color – a pretty blue-green, like the ocean – and idly began to trace the marks along your Soul with your eyes.

The scratches and cuts scattered all over your Soul had been there as long as you could remember, and though you knew there was a time when they hadn’t been there, you had eventually stopped feeling them. Even now, you looked at the long-unhealed marks and sighed, not even feeling a twinge or ache or soreness. What had always worried your siblings more was the chunk of your Soul that was missing.

Shockingly enough, you were well aware of the missing part of your being. Sometimes, when left alone and idle for too long, you could feel the emptiness it left behind. Really, the missing piece was the only thing that you even felt, though it was rare that you did. Your eyes followed the jagged edge of the break (or tear – you could never decide which it was) where the piece had been forcibly removed from your Soul, leaving a roughly V or L-shaped line in the upper curve of the heart.

You knew a Soul with extensive damage like yours was rare, and usually, the owners of such Souls didn’t live very long past the event that had damaged them in the first place. But you were a miracle kid – impossible, unexplainable things had a tendency of happening to or around you. (Like surviving childhood with a Soul as damaged as yours. Or learning to walk again after being told you would most likely be paralyzed from the hips down for the rest of your life, even if you did still sport a nasty limp.) But the pre-existing damage to your Soul was exactly why your siblings were so careful with you. And why they urged you to be careful as well, should you ever end up in a relationship with someone who could handle your Soul. (Thinking of this brought a certain skeleton to mind, and you fought to keep from blushing – why on earth would _he_ pop into your head at a time like this?)

You shake the thoughts away as Raya slides your Soul carefully back into your chest, already done with her examination.

“Well, the brightness is normal for you, which is good. And it doesn’t look like there’s any new damage. Guess we were worried for nothing this time,” she added with a relaxed smile. You smiled back, nodding a little. “Though…I did notice something a little odd. Did Jax mention seeing a…thread? Or a string? Attached to your Soul?”

You frown, putting a hand over your Soul and looking down at said hand.

“Yeah, actually. He said he thought he saw something leading off my Soul and disappearing into the distance. It was thin, and he was having a hard time making it out, but he said he thought it looked like an orange string or thread. And he couldn’t touch it to find out what it was or where it lead – his hand went right through it.”

“Huh. Okay, noticed the color, but the fact that he couldn’t touch it…that’s pretty odd. It’s not hurting you, is it?”

“No. I don’t even feel it. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until Jax said he saw it. He even pointed it out to me. To me, it looks more like a…a wire, or like fishing line. Or those invisible strings they use on the actors to help them do stunts and stuff.”

Raya nodded thoughtfully, fingering the necklace she was wearing. (You always thought that was a funny tick to have – to idly play with jewelry when thinking or nervous. Then again, you fidgeted with your hair, so you had no room to talk.)

“Well, as long as it’s not bothering you, I wouldn’t worry about it too much for now. I’ll talk to Jax and we’ll look into it. In the meantime, you do you, ______.”

“Not like I could do anything else,” you snort playfully, watching her wave lazily as she turns away herself.

“Whatever, nerd. I’m out.”

“See ya, Raya. Good luck!” you called after her, spinning your chair back and putting the headphones back on once she was out of sight. Then a thought struck you that had you tossing down your headphones again and getting up to go to the door.

“Raya, wait!”

“What? What’s up?”

“I wanted your opinion on what I should record next.”

Raya relaxed, chuckling from where she stood on the stairs.

“Got any pieces you’re working on right now?”

“Just one so far. Thinking a speed paint style?”

Raya nodded, then shrugged.

“But it’s up to you, sis. Could just do a cover instead or something. Anyway, I’m out for real. See ya.”

“Alright. Unhelpful,” you pouted, to which Raya laughed. “Later.”

You retreat back to your recording room, thinking. At this stage, you really couldn’t do a speed paint of the _Okami_ piece – it was too far along now – so the cover idea was a definite possibility. But the lure of playing another round of video games was pretty damn tempting, too…oh, this was why you asked Raya! You just couldn’t decide!

You sighed to yourself. Maybe you could ask Undyne or Papyrus…but that wouldn’t be fair to your other fans, would it? So maybe open an online poll? Of course, you could also start a new piece to do a speed paint on. So at least some fans of your speed paints could have the option for that instead…

Being a YouTuber was harder than it looked.

Eventually, you settled on making the decision yourself, leading you back to square one of what to do. You broke for a snack (a handful of pistachios was one of your favorites, but you weren’t picky about snacks), then finally made your choice. Video game it was! But, because you were still inspired about the current piece you were working on, you grinned to yourself as you searched for the game you wanted to play.

You knew you didn’t own _Okami_ , but you knew there had to be somewhere you could buy it, or at least rent it. But after looking a bit online, you couldn’t find anything, so you were left with your next best option – ask your friends and family if they knew where to get a copy of the game.

You leaned back in your chair with a slightly pouty look on your face and sent a group text to Raya, Jax, Papyrus, Sans, Alphys, and Undyne. (Not all of your contacts, but the list was still pretty small.) Then, in a Skype group message to the fans and clients you talked to the most, you reached out online for help, too. (Might as well exhaust all possible resources, right?)

 **_You:_ ** _Hey. Any idea where I could find a copy of the Wii game Okami?_

 **_FoxyNerd-_ ** _Hey, guys. I could use some help here. I went checking online for this Wii game called Okami, but I couldn’t find where I could get a copy. Any ideas or suggestions for me?_

Messages back started pouring in, both from your phone and online.

 **_Aqua Lass:_ ** _Sorry, ______. Unless you actually went and trolled the aisles of a game shop, I don’t know where you’d find a copy of Okami. Wish I could be more helpful!_

 **_MightyMjolnir-_ ** _Huh. Weird you couldn’t find one online. Well nbd – we’ll find a copy for you somewhere! Leave it to the fans!_

 **_ShakespeareanWench-_ ** _omg, i love that game! but it sucks you couldn’t find a copy! don’t worry, Foxy! one of us will find you one! we’ve got your back, girl!_

 **_Blue Wonder:_ ** _I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS GAME, OKAMI. IS IT FUN? COULD WE PLAY IT TOGETHER? OH, BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO FIND A COPY OF THE GAME. MY APOLOGIES, FRIEND!_

 **_Daxter:_ ** _Nope. Sorry. Tried going to the stores and finding it?_

 **_justaseptipliershipper-_ ** _Foxy! Been a while. But hey, to what you asked – if you can’t find one online anywhere (did you check Craigslist and EBay?) then try going to all the game stores in your town. Someone is bound to have a copy on their shelves for you to pick up. If not, let one of us fans know – we’ll troll our towns and stores for a copy and send it to you!_

(In truth, no, you hadn’t thought to check Craigslist or EBay. But why bother with those two when there were far safer, faster, and more reliable methods available to you?)

 **_Haxorus:_ ** _Why the hell would I know, nerd?_

(In your defense, Alphys’ contact was Haxorus because she summoned battle axes. And if Pokemon were real, she would totally own a Haxorus, no doubt.)

 **_alexxxisishot-_ ** _Huh. Wonder y u couldn’t find a copy…u’d think it’d b easy. I’ll do sum checking around and get back 2 u, Foxy. Hang tight until then!_

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _hey. good to hear from you today. feeling better, then? but to answer you, i have no idea where to find that game. but i have seen it before. been wanting to play it myself, really. but why are you asking? is it for a video?_

 **_Tuber4Life-_ ** _Have you checked any stores that sell video games, Foxy? Big chain places might not have a copy, but I’ll bet you can find one at a smaller shop, or places where you can sell used games. Try a Game Stop, or Game X Change, or any little hole-in-the-wall places in your town you can think of!_

Well, it seemed the majority consensus was for you to check game shops and stores. Which meant leaving the house again. And you were feeling better, sure, but…not up to leaving again so soon. You bite your lip and absentmindedly tugged at your hair a little. Well, shit. If it was really your only option, then you supposed you could do it, but at the same time, you really hesitated to do that. For all you knew, your bike was still folded up in the garage where you left it. But…

 **_Rayman:_ ** _Sorry, sis. No idea. I can stop by some shops and check for you while I’m out? I’d bring it back to you if I found one._

Oh, bless Raya for that. You really wanted to tell her yes, please find one for you, but…at the same time, you didn’t want her to take time out of her job search to go hunting down a game you were looking for. You knew she wouldn’t mind doing it, but still. So eventually, you sighed, answering her first.

 **_You:_ ** _No, it’s ok. U keep on the job hunt. I’ll look 4 the game. No worries. Wish me luck!_

Then you started replying to everyone one by one, starting with your texts. Your phone was still in your hand, after all. Might as well.

 **_You:_ ** _It’s ok, Unnie-honey. I was thinking of going 2 troll the stores – seems 2 b the general consensus I’m getting back, anyway. Nbd. Wish me luck!_

 **_You:_ ** _Okami is a 1-player game if I remember right, Sans. Sry, sweetie. But it’s okay that u don’t kno. I’m about 2 go look 4 a copy, actually. I’ll ttyl, k?_

 **_You:_ ** _About 2 do just that. I’ll let u kno when I get back, k?_

 **_You:_ ** _Group txt, Al. No dice on all fronts, but worth a try. Going out 2 look 4 a copy myself soon. Txt u when I get back home safe – I kno u’ll worry if I don’t!_

 **_You:_ ** _Yeah, I am sumwat better, actually. Thnx 4 asking. :) & I’m glad u’ve heard of it – it sounded like a cool game when I stumbled across it ages ago. But anyway, yeah, it’s 4 a vid. I was inspired by a commissioned piece & wanted 2 play it. We don’t own a copy, so I was gonna head out 2 find 1. Let u kno when I get home after – u & Alphys would both worry out of ur skulls about me if I didn’t, lol._

With that taken care of, you set your phone down and lean over your keyboard, typing out an answer to your loyal fans.

 **_­­FoxyNerd-_ ** _Thanks for all the answers, guys! Main suggestion I’m getting is check local stores. I’m gonna go do that when I get done here. And, for individual an answer…@justaseptipliershipper, no, I didn’t check Craigslist or EBay. I don’t really trust them. They’re not exactly safe sites, nor can they ensure the quality of the product, along with a number of other factors. But I still appreciate the suggestion, so thank you. And you also mentioned you guys would troll your local stores trying to find it for me – you guys really don’t have to do that for me. I’m sure I can find a copy somewhere myself without you guys having to spend your money on me. The thought and sentiment is sweet, don’t get me wrong – I love you guys. You guys are the greatest fans I could ask for. But you definitely have better things to spend your money on than a game for me. So please, seriously, don’t go out looking for the express purpose of finding Okami for me. I’ll find a way. Don’t worry. What do I always say when things get tough for me? It’s hard to keep a good nerd down! I’ll catch up with the rest of you soon! See ya then!_

You then signed out of your Skype, shutting everything down bit by bit as you prepared to leave the house. You weren’t looking forward to trolling the stores, but it was your best bet for finding a copy of _Okami_ yourself. And you knew your siblings and friends wouldn’t like the idea of you leave the house on your own again so soon either, so you expected to get a flood of worried texts. (All of which you would ignore for a while. You didn’t want them to sweat, but really, it would only stress you out more to look at the texts when they started coming in.) Despite knowing this, you opened the first text you got back as you closed the door to your recording room.

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _okay, less concerned with the rest of what you said in favor of the fact that you’re going to go find a copy of the game. are you going by yourself?_

Wow. Yesterday had proven that he cared enough to worry about you, but this…

 **_You:_ ** _Yeah? Raya’s the only 1 who’d b available 2 take w/ me, & she’s out job hunting. Every1 else is @ work 4 all I kno._

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _you really shouldn’t go alone, ______. any chance you could just have raya get the game for you while she’s out?_

Okay, that annoyed you a little. Yeah, you were a pretty fragile person with an even more fragile Soul, but he didn’t know about your Soul. (Did he? No. No way. He caught you off guard yesterday with knowing you were FoxyNerd, but there was literally no way he could know about that. He didn’t know everything. That was impossible.) Still, the way he was handling this…it bothered you.

 **_You:_ ** _Yeah, but I’d rather not ask her 2 do that. She’s got enough on her plate w/ finding a new job. Asking her 2 get me the game is stupid & trivial, & it’s not sumthng she needs 2 worry about. I’m an adult. I can go get it myself. It shouldn’t matter if I go alone or not._

Admittedly, the way it was worded was a little aggressive, but given that you were annoyed with him, you thought it was allowed. And you weren’t being a bitch about it. Just pointing out facts. You were to the garage when your phone went off again.

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _look, i wasn’t trying to upset you. i said you shouldn’t go alone, not that you couldn’t or weren’t capable. just…i worry because of what i saw with the gangsters when we met. and everything after. you don’t exactly handle stressful situations well. and with you headed all over town to hunt down this game, i just worry that somebody looking for trouble is gonna find you again. the gangsters, the asshole that almost ran you down…you’ve got people who care about you, kid. and i wouldn’t want anything to happen to you for their sakes._

Aww…dammit, Papyrus. He seemed to be good at irritating you one second and making you regret getting upset with him the next. You stopped next to your bike (yep, still folded – damn) and tapped out a reply.

 **_You:_ ** _I kno. I kno u’re just worried about me & my well-bing. I didn’t rly mean 4 that 2 sound as bitchy as it did. I just…this is wat my 2 older siblings r 4. & I realize no 1 is going 2 like me going out on my own after the other day, but…I’m kinda stuck otherwise. So unless u or sum1 else has another option…?_

You stow your phone away and start unfolding your bike, locking it into place before returning the pedals and chain to their rightful place on the bike. Once that was settled, you snapped the basket back onto your bike (you figured you were going to need it to carry the game once you bought it), opened the garage door, and pushed your bike out into the driveway, closing the door behind you. Just as you’re about to hop on to your bike and get going, your phone starts finally blowing up with texts, though the only one you check is Papyrus’.

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _not bitchy. just irritated. and actually, i get it. sans has a habit of nagging and worrying about me constantly. he nags me so much, you’d think he’s the older sibling. and you’re right, no one is gonna like that. but i do have an idea. just give me five minutes._

You frown quizzically down at your phone. What on earth…?

Then another text from him comes in not quite two minutes later.

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _okay, all set. where are you?_

 **_You:_ ** _Standing in my driveway w/ my bike. Ur last txt caught me right b4 I would have left. Lucky timing, pal. Wat exactly do u have in mind, if u don’t mind me asking?_

 **_Skeletor:_ ** _oh, sweet. and you’ll see in a second. give or take._

Okay, now you were really confused.

“Give or take…?” you muttered to yourself, starting to reply. “Give or take what?”

Just as you type out those thoughts, though…

“yo. thanks for waiting.”

Your head snaps up so fast you could have given yourself whiplash, and you yelp in surprise, letting go of your bike and jumping backwards, falling on your ass as you gracelessly trip over your own feet. Or, you would have fallen. Your bike made a bunch of noise as it hit the ground, but you found yourself gasping in surprise and blinking at the sudden feeling of weightlessness that overtook you. You glanced to Papyrus to see his left eye blazing orange, his hand flicked out to catch you as you fell. Your heart was racing, and you weren’t sure if it was from being startled, or seeing and feeling his magic at work. Either way, he seemed to be staring at you, too…no, not directly at you. You flick your eyes down to see that he’s obviously staring at your Soul where his magic has it outlined in your chest. The bright orange does nothing to soften the jagged edges of your Soul, and you try to move your arms to cover it in shame and humiliation. But your arms won’t move. Must be a side effect of his gravity magic, you realize, and settle for trying to draw his attention elsewhere.

“Uh-um, Papyrus? Y-you can put me down, now.”

His gaze snaps to your face, and you swear you see an orange tint cross his cheekbones before he stutters back, “uh, yeah, right. sorry.”

He then gently lowers you to the ground, and when your feet touch the ground, the weightless feeling vanishes, leaving you almost stumbling. You manage to regain your balance and right yourself quickly, picking up your phone from where you dropped it in your surprise and picking your bike back up.

“You’re fine,” you reply with a small smile, stowing your phone away so you could use one hand to tug at your hair. “Sorry for yelling.”

“yeah, you do startle pretty easy, huh?”

“What gave me away?” you laugh lightly. “Anyway…what was this idea you had? And how the heck did you get over here so fast? Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at work right now?”

You frown at the last question as it dawns on you. Had he left work just so you wouldn’t have to go shopping for the game alone? You really hoped he hadn’t skipped out on work just to make sure you were okay…

“whoa, whoa, whoa. one question at a time, there, ______,” he replied, coming over to you. “first, let me answer your questions out of order. i teleported here. part of my magic. and yeah, i was supposed to be at work. but! but, i got permission from my boss to leave so i could come with you. that was the idea. this way, you’re not by yourself.”

“Oh…wow. Sorry, hung up on the fact that _you can teleport_. That’s so fucking cool,” you grin, unable to help yourself. He grins back and then you shake it off, trying to be serious. “But that’s not cool that you left work because of me. Don’t you need the hours or something?”

“well…” Papyrus hedges, and that’s all the answer you need. You sigh heavily, irritated now. This was exactly why you’d told everyone you would handle this. And why, you realized now, you should have ignored his texts along with everyone else’s. You could feel your rant about that very thing building in your chest, but you squashed it, trying not to scold him. He wasn’t Alphys or Undyne or one of your siblings or your cat. You weren’t to that level of closeness for scolding to be okay yet. But the sigh and the look on your face seemed to be enough, as he kinda shrank a little, wincing as he did.

“it’s like you said. there aren’t a whole lot of options. and everyone is going to flip out that you’re going out by yourself so soon after that fiasco the other day. if they haven’t already,” he adds when your phone goes off a few times in a row, arching a brow bone. “and since i’m the one who could reach you the fastest, here i am. so, you gonna let everyone know you’ve got someone with you now?”

You huff and stare down a bush in your yard petulantly. You were still frustrated with him, and you felt like if you opened your mouth, the only thing that would come out were hurtful words and scolding. So you opted to keep your mouth shut and silently fume for a minute. Once you stood there long enough, you were calm enough to sigh and shift your gaze to the ground in front of you, then over to Papyrus’ shoes.

“Fine. But I don’t have to like it.”

Then you pull out your phone and go through the texts, mostly just skimming them. Yeah, everyone was worried and in a minor uproar over you going out alone. You make a small whiny noise and start on a group reply text.

 **_You:_ ** _Omg, ok, srsly? This is a group txt 2 every1 – all of u need 2 keep ur panties on. Papyrus showed up 2 make sure I wouldn’t go out by myself, so calm down. I’m not going alone. W/ him here, I don’t think I could if I tried. Every1 cool now?_

After a couple seconds, the texts began to trickle in.

 **_Daxter:_ ** _Oh, good. Cool. Stay close to him, k sis?_

 **_Haxorus:_ ** _Good. Make sure he knows that if he doesn’t take care of you, I’m coming after him!_

(You repeat this to Papyrus, and both of you snort in amusement.)

 **_Aqua Lass:_ ** _Oh, awesome! Thank goodness. Yeah, it’s all good. Have fun! But not too much!_

(You refused to explain to Papyrus why your cheeks turned bright red beyond the words “shipper Undyne.” He didn’t need to know more than that.)

 **_Blue Wonder:_ ** _AH, THAT IS GOOD! I AM GLAD THE TWO OF YOU ARE GETTING ALONG AGAIN, THEN!! I KNEW HAVING MY BROTHER CALL YOU LAST NIGHT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!_

 **_Rayman:_ ** _Oh. Well, okay then. Glad you’re not going alone after all. Be careful out there, alright?_

You sigh and don’t bother answering any of them. Most of the people you texted knew that you wouldn’t respond to something like that (the only exception being Sans – you hoped he wouldn’t get worried for you not answering). Then you bring your eyes up to meet Papyrus’, still a bit sulking and pouty.

“You _do_ understand why I’d be opposed to this plan right?”

“i can infer from previous conversations.”

“…good enough,” you sigh, curling a lock of hair behind your ear and pushing up your glasses. “So then, how are we getting around? My bike can’t fit both of us.”

“you won’t be needing it. come on, let’s put it back before we go.”

He gently manages to pry the bike from your grip, wheeling it back towards the garage. You frown and pout some more, but follow him. Why was he being so mysterious? It was pretty annoying. Still frowning and pouting, you open the garage door for him and show him where to put your bike, then follow him back out, typing in the code for the security system into the keypad so the door would close. Only then do you turn to him.

“So, no bike, no car…what exactly are you planning?”

Papyrus smiles faintly, like he’s enjoying keeping you in the dark, then opens his arms to you.

“you’ll need to come closer.”

You don’t move from where you stand, giving him a very confused and skeptical look. He sighs and steps closer to you himself, gingerly taking your arms and wrapping them around himself. You instantly start blushing and resist a little.

“P-Papyrus? What are you doing?”

“hey, hey, hey. it’s okay. calm down. you need to be holding onto me for this to work.”

“For what to work?” you squeak, still trying to pull away. (Damn, Papyrus is stronger than you were expecting – which is actually kind of hot…no! Stop it! Focus, ______!)

“i’m going to teleport both of us. and it won’t work if you’re not holding on.”

You instantly still, calmed to finally know what he was doing. Concern crosses your face, however, as something both Undyne and Alphys have said to you before flits through your mind.

“Is that a good idea? How much of your magic does that use? Won’t throwing me into the mix be putting more strain on you? I mean, if it’s easier on you, I can just wait for you to run and get your car or something…”

Papyrus stares at you for a second, and though his expression is unreadable, you sense it’s got a meaning you’re missing. (Which prompts you to remember the odd little bits of behavior you’d noticed with him before – the “I’ll wait” comment, the disappointment in his voice when you’d hung up last night, how quickly he seemed to have become attached to you, how concerned and worried about you he was…) When he finally answers, it’s with a gentle smile, and you think your heart melts a little to see him smiling so sweetly and know it’s meant for you. (The hell? Where are these thoughts coming from?)

“it’ll be fine, ______. but it’s kind of you to be so worried about that. besides, i thought you didn’t like cars?”

“I…I don’t. I just…well, I know Alphys and Undyne have talked before about how dangerous it is for a monster to use their magic too much, so…I just don’t want you to strain yourself…a-and I have no idea how many places we’ll have to look or how far we’ll have to go…”

Papyrus’ smile just gets bigger, and you shrink a little shyly.

“would it help if i agreed to go get my car if i felt like i was straining myself?”

“…maybe.”

“alright then. if i feel like i’m straining my magic, i’ll go get my car. until then, you put up with the teleporting. deal?”

You make a face, but nod, realizing that arguing about it in your driveway won’t get you anywhere. This skeleton is surprisingly stubborn.

“good. so where are we headed first?”

“The Game Stop out at the mall. I figured I’d check there first.”

Papyrus nodded, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close. Your cheeks burn at the proximity, and you almost resist. But you also don’t want to find out what happens if you’re not holding on tight enough when he teleports you, so you tighten your arms around him a fraction as well.

“good. hold on just like that. i take it you’re ready?”

“As ready as I’m probably going to be,” you reply, your already soft voice muffled further by his hoodie. You feel him chuckle, the sound warm and rich, like honey.

“good enough. now close your eyes…and don’t let go,” he whispers in your ear, making you shiver. You hold on tighter than before, squeezing your eyes shut, as instructed. Then you gasp.

Teleportation was not at all what you were expecting. It felt like the world disappearing around you and leaving you stranded somewhere indescribable. Somewhere that felt like everything and nothing. Somewhere neither hot, nor cold. Somewhere you felt the most intense fear you’d ever felt, yet the most at peace as well. It barely lasts a second before you can swear you feel the world returning around you, welcoming you back with noise and bustle and life. It takes Papyrus gingerly tilting your head back and calling your name to snap you out of the feeling the teleportation left behind. With shaking…well, everything, you manage to let go of Papyrus and open your eyes, taking a shaky breath. When had you started holding it? And man, you’d been clinging to Papyrus like your life depended on it. You’d be more embarrassed if you weren’t so shaken from that.

“hey, ______. you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you answer, still trembling and holding onto his arm. (A part of you never wanted to let go – and right now, you were glad to oblige that part.) “I just…I…what _was_ that? That-that space in between. I-I felt it, and i-it…”

Papyrus frowned, looking concerned as he drew you over to a bench to sit.

“it’s called the void. it’s a plane of existence parallel to our own. but it’s not somewhere anyone should ever stay.”

“Why?”

The question is out of your mouth before you can think it through, despite your shivering from having passed through this…Void. You can tell why no one should stay there. You could feel why no one would want to.

“lots of reasons. one of them being that even looking into the void too long drives people insane. another being that there’s never been a documented living being surviving in the void. partially because any who stay are then erased from reality. all memory of them is wiped, all trace of them vanishes…as if they never existed in the first place. you see why i wanted you to close your eyes and hold on tight?”

You nodded, terrified.

“Why…why would a place like that _exist?_ Why call it the Void? Why…how do you know all this?”

Papyrus gently rubbed your arm reassuringly. After the nothing that was passing through the Void, his touch was very soothing.

“i can’t tell you why it exists. i don’t actually know. and i’m pretty sure it’s called the void because it’s de- _void_ of everything. sights, sounds, touch, texture, life…even light. it’s a literal void. as for how i know all this…i’m connected to it.”

You stare at him incredulously.

“How? How can you be connected to that…that…thing? How is that possible?”

He sighed heavily, and a small part of you wanted to retract the question. But a larger part of you wanted answers, and right now, it was winning.

“you remember that lab accident i mentioned? it has to do with that.”

“What…” you start, intending to ask what happened, but bite your lip to stop yourself from voicing it. It clearly still bothered him, whatever it was, and you felt like you weren’t in a position to be asking him for information he wasn’t ready to share. He glanced to you, however, as if waiting for you to ask anyway. You shook you head and looked away, taking a deep breath.

“It’s none of my business. I won’t ask until you’re ready to tell me.”

He seemed surprised by this, openly staring at you until you ended up tugging your hair from your anxiety. He seemed to notice your quirk and gently reached over, pulling your hand from your hair and smiling at you gratefully.

“thanks. i know how curious you are, so i can imagine it’s not easy for you to resist asking. i really appreciate you trying to respect my space and all that.”

You know your expression reads as bemused as you start to say, “You know how curious I am?” then laugh at yourself. “Right, forgot. You watch my channel. I swear I need to keep a counter for how often my curiosity had gotten me in trouble in games.”

“and you know what it’d read? too damn many times to count, that’s how many.”

You both laugh, relaxing. Now that you had something in common (and Papyrus wasn’t giving you that intense look from before), he was so much easier to talk to and be around. And he was much more open than you were expecting him to be. He did still have things he wasn’t going to tell you, but as he’d already said – everyone was entitled to their demons.

“So, hey…help me understand. How exactly does your teleporting work?”

“well, basically, what i’m doing is using the void to connect two points in space that otherwise wouldn’t be. it’s like that trick where you draw two sides of a shape on opposite ends of a piece of paper, then fold the paper to make them touch. the normal space between the two halves is the actual distance in our reality, and the fold in the paper is the void.”

“So…you’re not bending our reality to get from one place to another…you’re bending the Void. You’re making it tunnel through our reality to connect to the two destinations.”

“more or less. you caught on pretty quick.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m a multi-type kind of nerd. Music, games, art, TV, movies, comics, some sciences…I dabble in a little bit of everything,” you smile proudly, getting him to grin.

“yeah…but i didn’t know you were into anything science-y. you make just about everything else clear on your channel and social medias.”

“So, what, you thought I reblogged and shared science-y posts for grins and giggles?”

Your tease makes that orange tint from earlier return to his cheekbones, and if you had to guess, it was his version of a blush, just like Sans’ blue color you’d noticed. You actually rather liked that shade of orange, and before you realized it, you had a shit-eating grin on your face.

“w-well, i…i hadn’t really considered it before…”

You laugh, but pat his knee affectionately.

“It’s okay. Undyne was really excited when I first revealed to her that I was into some sciences. Biology and the life sciences aren’t my thing, but like I said, I like to dabble. So I know a little of a few different topics.”

“as proven by your understanding of the complex physics involved in trying to comprehend the void. and teleportation. and magic,” he nods, to which you smile and nod back.

“Yep! Though there’s still so much no one really understand about magic. I’d love to be involved in the research going on right now for that…” you sigh wistfully, but shake your head, getting up. Papyrus stands with you, and you finally realize you’ve been sitting on a bench outside the mall this whole time. You glance at him and shoot him a quizzical look.

“you’re wondering why i didn’t take us right to the store?” he guesses. “not everyone is cool with public displays of magic like that.”

“Oh. Right. Wouldn’t want to cause a panic or anything because we suddenly just…appeared out of thin air.”

“exactly.”

You both lapse into silence as you enter the mall, a silence that is peppered with the noise of the other mall patrons bustling about their own business. You liked silences like this – ones that didn’t feel like they needed to be filled with anything. This silence wasn’t like what you’d felt in the Void. That silence had been too whole, too complete. Like the tall skeleton had said, it was a place devoid of anything. The noise surrounding the two of you after that was welcome.

Once inside, you glance around, looking for the closest map. You didn’t often come to the mall ( _way_ too many people in one place for your liking), so you really didn’t know where the Game Stop was in here. Eventually you sighed and turned to Papyrus.

“So I actually have no idea where I’m going…”

He chuckles and gives you a fond smile.

“this way,” he answers, placing one hand lightly on your shoulder and gesturing with the other. You follow him to the store, and once there, you browse around, hoping to find it yourself. When you don’t, you start working up the nerve to go to the cashier and ask if they have _Okami_ …when Papyrus goes up and asks for you. It’s only after you end up leaving the store empty-handed that the surprise wears off enough for you to ask what on earth he was doing.

“heh…let’s face it, ______. unless you’re comfortable with them or they’re a video game character, your people skills are pretty lacking. if you were by yourself, i could see why you would need to force yourself to talk to people. but since i’m here, and i’d guess you’re marginally more comfortable with me than some cashier or clerk, might as well have me talk to them for you. yeah?”

You stare at Papyrus, falling a little out of step with him. He slows is pace to match yours, but casts you a confused look. You finally stop walking and shake your head.

“Sorry. I just…no one’s done that for me before. Not since I finally got my voice back.”

Papyrus’ eyebrows (eye-brow-bones? He’s a skeleton, you’re still not even sure how he has facial expressions in the first place) shoot up in surprise, and you get the feeling you’ve said too much.

“got your voice back? you…lost it at some point?”

You hesitate and end up looking down at the ground between you, fingers twisted around a lock of hair while you fidget where you stand.

“Yeah,” you finally answer, softer than you’d spoken all day. You didn’t really want to talk about this, but you were the one who’d started down this rabbit hole…

Papyrus looked at you for a minute, almost that same intense look from two days ago, but ended up sticking his hands in his hoodie pocket and casting his gaze elsewhere.

“well, hey – none of my business unless you wanna share, right?”

Now it was your turn to look surprised, though you realize a split second later you really shouldn’t have been. For every moment where you’d respected his privacy and wishes, he’d respected yours right back, and this was no different. He clearly understood when someone was struggling with a secret or a demon too painful for them to share yet. (Which just prompted you to think about how little you really knew about him, and how the sense of mystery was like something out of an anime or movie…) And just like that, you found yourself wanting to tell him, wanting to explain. But could you actually work up the nerve to do it?

“Y-yeah…thanks…” you finally answer after a second too long of thinking and staring. Not this time, it seemed. But if you felt the urge to tell him this strongly now, maybe next time you could work yourself up to it…maybe.

Papyrus just gives you a lazy grin and gestures you closer, guiding you back to the exit with a gentle touch.

“so then – where to next?”

“Well, there’s a Vintage Stock we could try a few miles from here…”

“i think i know where that is, actually. alright, you know the rules now. close your eyes, hold on tight, and don’t let go.”

You do as Papyrus says, clinging tightly to him as he teleports, much more prepared than before. This time, passing through the Void isn’t as bad. (Still bad, but slightly better. Clearly a thing that gets better the more one is exposed to it.) But by the time you land at your destination, you still are a bit shaky and breathless.

This is how it goes for a good hour or two, with Papyrus teleporting the both of you around town and talking to the store staff for you. But after all this, Papyrus seems to be getting tired, and you’re at your wits end, since you’re still empty-handed.

“well, damn,” he sighs after another fruitless venture. “no copies here, either.”

You frown and sigh. This really wouldn’t do.

“what’s next on the list, hon?”

You blush at the nickname Papyrus had given you, but let it slide. You had noticed that the more tired he was getting, the less he noticed he was slipping up and calling you that abbreviation of “honey” instead of your name. Not that you minded – it was really cute he kept calling you that – but also, you were hella confused as to why he kept doing it. But you always shoved that thought away, since you were having to keep up with him as much as he was keeping up with you.

Rather than outright answer him, though, you shake your head this time and cross your arms.

“what? what’s up with the stubborn look, hon? er, ______.”

“You’re getting too tired. You gave me your word that if you were straining yourself, you’d run and get your car instead.”

“i’m fine,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “barely even winded.”

“That’s what you said five teleports ago. Look, I refuse to let you run yourself ragged trying to find a stupid game for me. So go and get your car.”

“______ -”

“No. No buts. I’m putting my foot down, Papyrus. I don’t care how much you fight me on this. I’d sooner walk to our next destination than have you teleport again when it’s straining you so much to keep doing it. _Go. And get. Your car._ I’ll be right here until you get back.”

“you don’t wanna make it easier and just come with me?”

You shook your head. As much as it really would be easier, you knew dragging you with him was making it harder for Papyrus to teleport. And since you didn’t know how to drive (and wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel anyway, even if you did), you wanted the tall skeleton a lucid as possible. Said skeleton sighed, clearly reluctant to leave your side. While it was sweet he was so concerned for your safety, it was also damned annoying.

“Papyrus. I’ll be standing right here when you get back with your car, okay? I won’t budge an inch. I promise. And if I’m standing still not doing anything, how much trouble can I really get into, huh?”

You knew you had a point, and it would be hard to argue with a statement like that. And you watched with a little amused smirk as Papyrus tried to find an argument to make, but failed miserably. He had indeed given you his word, and your logic had painted him into a corner. From the look on his face, he knew it, too. You couldn’t help but smile and chuckle at him with a shake of your head.

“Go on, big guy. You gave me your word, now I’m giving you mine. I’ll be right here. Anything happens in the meantime, I’ll call you the first chance I get. Okay?”

The orange hoodie-wearing monster finally caved, running a hand over his skull with a sigh.

“alright, fine. but only because you keep insisting. i’m gonna hold you to that promise, so stay put.”

You give him a big smile and nod, plopping down on the ground to sit and wait for him, pushing up your glasses smartly afterwards.

“Not an inch from this spot. Not moving a muscle I don’t have to,” you chirp back, pleased as punch. Papyrus gives you a funny look, but casts his gaze elsewhere with a sigh before you could identify it.

“alright then. guess i’ll be right back. be safe until i get back, okay hon?”

He teleports before you can answer, but you don’t really mind all that much. Kinda seems like his nature to do things like that. Besides, if you were him, you’d want to waste as little time as possible getting the car and getting back. But with nothing better to do until Papyrus gets back, you pull out your phone and update everyone with your progress (or rather, lack thereof). Your monster friends seem impressed that you got Papyrus to do what you told him to, but your siblings were just glad you were doing okay going out and about the way you were. You smiled regardless. But after sitting there for a few minutes people watching from your spot on the concrete outside the store, you watched some men approach you out of the corner of your eye.

“Hey!” one of them called out to you. You knew it was you he was talking to (you had already subtly checked your peripheral vision for anyone else he could be talking to or walking towards), but you didn’t turn your head to acknowledge the men, pretending you either hadn’t heard the one speaking or thought he was talking to someone else.

“Ain’t you that orphan kid?” the one continued, all of them stopping next to you and looking down at you, since you hadn’t gotten up. Well, shit. Hard to pretend you hadn’t heard him now. And kinda hard to ignore the way he reeked of drugs. Yeesh, you could get a second-hand high just from being around this guy! You tried to keep your breathing shallow and tried to control your facial expression as you glanced up at him and his friends warily.

“I’m sure there are a lot of orphans in this town,” you answered carefully, voice small and soft. “You’d have to be more specific than that.”

“He’s askin’ if you’re the brat whose parents got blown to the moon, smartass,” answered another man, leaning towards you threateningly. You flinched, your hand from flying up to cover your nose. Not only had they hit a nerve, but this man in particular smelled of alcohol as well as drugs, and you couldn’t stop your reaction. Oh god, Papyrus, please hurry…

“David, ya idjit,” slurred the third in the group (you almost bristled at that – the only one allowed to say “idjit” was Bobby from _Supernatural_ , dammit!) “Ya can’t jus’ go ‘round askin’ if people’s ‘rents got blown to hell.”

“’N why the fuck not?” replied the second man. (David, evidently.)

“’Cuz it’s fuckin’ rude, dumbass!” the first one answers, clearly the most sober of the bunch as he slaps David upside the head. (You liked it better when Gibbs from _NCIS_ did that. It was affectionate when he did it.) “Sorry, ‘bout him. But he’s basically right. You that kid?”

You shrink a little and latch onto your hair with a nod. You could have been a smartass and mentioned your siblings instead, but you weren’t feeling sassy enough (or comfortable enough) for that right now. The first man sighed and scratched his head, the other two who’d spoken grinning. The last two in the group didn’t seem to give much of a shit, and you could guess they were pretty well hammered.

(You knew what that looked like as far as alcohol went because, though a wonderful guardian and big brother, Jackson had one particularly bad habit – any time he was challenged to a drinking contest, he would always accept the challenge. And he and Alphys had gotten hammered there at the house or come home with Undyne and Raya enough times for you to know what someone drunk off their ass looked like. Those times were funny, since it was your big brother and his best friend. This, however…)

“Told you, Marcus!” the third guy piped up. “Told you it was one of those brats!”

“Can it, Jordan,” snapped the first one – Marcus, apparently. And the third guy was Jordan. Lovely. (Not.)

“Look, I…I saw you sittin’ over here, ‘n…” Marcus started with a sigh, scratching the back of his head again. “Jordan and David here are kinda assholes, ‘n when we thought we saw you a couple days ago on your bike, it was Jordan behind the wheel of my truck, ‘n…”

You widen your eyes in surprise, freezing. Apparently, Papyrus’ worry about the guys that almost ran you down the other day finding you again were valid. In a town this small, you shouldn’t have been surprised, but still.

“That…th-that was you?” you whispered, honestly scared now. You wanted them to leave you alone. You wanted nothing more than to go back to being bored waiting for Papyrus to show up. Hell, you wanted Papyrus here with you to…well, you weren’t sure what you would’ve wanted him to do, but you definitely felt safer with him by your side.

Marcus winced, looking guilty as hell. _Good._

“Yeah, that was us. I wanted to apologize for them and see if you were alright.”

His words didn’t make you any less scared, but it was at least a slightly calming thought that he wasn’t like his friends and wanted to check on you. You withdrew further into yourself, however.

“I-I’m alright. You didn’t hit me. But I’d rather be left alone right now, please,” you answer, voice barely audible. Marcus nods, gesturing his friends past you and towards the door to the store. The two guys who were plastered barely cast a glance your direction as they pass, though when David and Jordan pass you, you shiver under their gazes. You didn’t like the way they were looking at you. It scared you and made you feel dirty somehow.

“Sorry for the bother, miss. We’ll be gettin’ out of your way now.”

You nod a thanks to Marcus before he joins his friends inside the store, leaving you alone again. You really wish Papyrus would hurry up now…

The skeleton takes long enough that you are still sitting outside by yourself when two of the men from earlier sneak out of the store and up behind you without you noticing. One grabs your hair and yanks your head back, muffling the yelp of pain you produce by covering your mouth with his hand. The other comes around and puts the tip of a pocket knife against your throat, the sharp, cold metal making you too scared to even breathe.

* * *

**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ **

* * *

“Aw, what’s the matter, brat?” cooed the one with the knife – David, you realize. “Little orphan Annie scared by the big bad men?”

You try not to whimper as he trails the tip of the knife away from your throat and down to the edge of your hoodie. Yes, you were very, very scared. Terrified, actually. Your heart was beating a mile a minute, and you could feel your Soul pulsing in distress, calling for something desperately. It was rare you felt your Soul, but in this situation, you just hoped it was calling for help.

“Let’s see what little orphan Annie is hiding under these clothes. Eh, David?” Jordan spoke from behind you, tightening his grip on your hair. David grinned and nodded, and you began to panic. There was only one direction this was going, and you wanted no part of it. But with the knife still pressed to your flesh, you struggled more with your fight or flight response than you did your captors as Jordan forced you to your feet and began walking you to an alleyway.

Suddenly, you felt cold spread out from your Soul, and you stopped moving, standing still as a statue. This was both the best and worst timing for one of these…both men tried to force you forward, but you barely heard them, or even felt their presence. They got you moving again, but you were not there. Your focus was on your Soul, where it was going berserk in your body. Your Soul was fighting to stay whole and undamaged as the light in it tried to sputter out in the face of the situation you found yourself in. You were having one of your extremely rare Soul attacks, where your Soul dimmed to the point of trying to go dark. If it did that, you would become an emotionless husk, alive, but unfeeling…inhuman. It was incredibly damaging to your Soul for it to even sputter the way it was, let alone actually going dark, which you were glad had never actually happened. But you knew that if your Soul went dark, there was no coming back. At that point, your already damaged Soul would just shatter, and it would kill you. This thought terrified you more than anything these men could do to you.

When Jordan threw you to the ground and pulled a pocket knife of his own, you barely noticed, clutching at your chest and gasping for air. The cold feeling was spreading, and you were shivering like you had been caught in a blizzard without protection. You didn’t want what they were planning for you. More than that, you didn’t want to die. Not by them, not from your Soul going dark and shattering…before you realized what was going on, you gathered what little strength you could muster and whispered the one thing that came to mind.

“What was that, brat?” Jordan sneered, leaning closer to you to hear you better. He didn’t have to.

“ _P-P-Papyrus!_ ” you shrieked, both with your voice and your Soul. You just prayed he would hear you.

Jordan lurched back, crying out from your scream hurting his ears, since he was right in your face when you screamed. He swore and kicked you, hitting you square in the stomach and knocking the wind out of you. It hurt like hell, and made the cold emanating from your Soul spread even faster. No, no, no, no, no…

“C’mon, David. Let’s make this little bitch _really_ scream,” Jordan growled kneeling down, both taking their knives to your clothes. You tried to resist, but it just ended up with the blades cutting you, and you stopped, crying as you begged for Papyrus to have heard you. Please let him have heard you…

Just as the two men were about to start cutting away your undergarments, the air grew thick with the feeling of magic, and it practically crackled like electricity. With it was the most terrifying presence you had ever felt, but through your tears, you could now make out the two men, both outlined in murky colors you couldn’t immediately identify…and one figure beyond them, outlined in the most fantastic flare of fiery orange you had ever seen.

This…this had never happened before…what was…?

“ **h e y .** ”

The two men hovering over you finally turn, having frozen when they felt the presence and magic the same as you did.

“ **l e t m y h u m a n g o .** ”

David did as instructed, dropping the knife in his hand and practically leaping over you to flee. Jordan, however, hesitates before pointing the blade at the newcomer. (You still couldn’t make out who it was clearly.)

“Monster filth,” he slurred, the pocket knife wavering in his grip. Hearing this, though, fills you with hope. You thought the voice sounded familiar, even if it was all dark and scary. It had to be Papyrus. He must have heard you and come to your rescue! The flickering in your Soul didn’t ease, however, and your vision began to darken, tunneling on just Jordan and Papyrus. You had to tell him. You had to tell Papyrus what was happening to you so he’d know what to do…

“P-Papyrus…” you manage weakly, not realizing just now much effort it takes you to even say his name. Shit. The orange outline you think is Papyrus flares outward, particularly where it’s closest to you. It’s almost as if the outline is reacting to him, and it’s reaching for you. The murky brown color you’ve recognized as Jordan turns to face you again, then back to your skeletal savior.

“Oh, I get it. She’s _your_ bitch, is she? That’s why she was screamin’ your name?”

A primal growl comes from the orange outline, and the color reaches for you again. At this point, all you can see are the outlines, and your Soul is barely fighting off the darkness. You can actually start to feel the cracks forming as the cold coming from your Soul reaches the very edges of your being…

The next thing you know, Jordan’s outline is thrown against something, despite the fact that Papyrus only snapped his fingers and moved his arm. The short cry of pain Jordan makes is…oddly satisfying. This scares you, and you struggle to keep the darkness in your Soul at bay. You actually try putting forth the effort with your Soul to fight it, and you feel the warming sparks from your effort.

After Jordan crashes into a few other things, Papyrus snaps his fingers again, and Jordan scrambles to his feet.

“ **g e t l o s t .** ”

The vile man doesn’t need to be told twice, fleeing the scene without hesitation. Only then does Papyrus’ outline finally move to your side, the color reaching for you at the same time as it seems to shrink and dim. Still, once you actually feel his boney arms around you, you do feel much safer. And once he actually touches you, the orange outline you see (the only thing you see) swirls to focus on the contact, as if it wants to heal you and help you in some way.

“oh stars, hon…i’m so sorry…”

Now was definitely not the time for him feeling guilty. But you can’t tell him that, as it takes more concentration than you’re willing to give right now to try and speak. You have to save your strength to fight for your Soul.

“shit…shit, shit, shit, your Soul…fuck, what’s…?”

Before you can even think about trying again to tell him what’s going on, he reaches for something in his pocket at the same time as he gingerly shifts you in his arms. Once he has whatever it is, he messes with it for a moment, then puts it next to his head, which tilts at an odd angle. Then his other arm is back around you, and you feel yourself being lifted…

“jax, it’s papyrus. something’s wrong with ______. where are you?”

He must’ve been messing with his phone. Calling your siblings was the smartest choice right now. He’d been a scientist for a reason, you rationalized.

“alright. we’re coming to you. hold on, hon,” he adds to you, and you can tell because of the nickname. (As if you have a choice in the matter.)

That’s the last thing you remember before you black out entirely…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Section summary:** The two men who sneak up behind Readz force her into the closest alley, and she notes that she can feel her Soul pulsing in distress. She knows what they want, and she wants no part of it, but she's too scared to fight back. Then... _"Suddenly, you felt cold spread out from your Soul, and you stopped moving, standing still as a statue. This was both the best and worst timing for one of these…both men tried to force you forward, but you barely heard them, or even felt their presence. They got you moving again, but you were not there. Your focus was on your Soul, where it was going berserk in your body. Your Soul was fighting to stay whole and undamaged as the light in it tried to sputter out in the face of the situation you found yourself in. You were having one of your extremely rare Soul attacks, where your Soul dimmed to the point of trying to go dark. If it did that, you would become an emotionless husk, alive, but unfeeling…inhuman. It was incredibly damaging to your Soul for it to even sputter the way it was, let alone actually going dark, which you were glad had never actually happened. But you knew that if your Soul went dark, there was no coming back. At that point, your already damaged Soul would just shatter, and it would kill you. This thought terrified you more than anything these men could do to you."_
> 
> At this point, Readz is afraid of dying, no matter what happens next. In desperation, she does the first thing that comes to mind - she begins calling out and screaming for Papyrus. The men kick her to silence her, then begin cutting her clothes off as she struggles. Next... _"Just as the two men were about to start cutting away your undergarments, the air grew thick with the feeling of magic, and it practically crackled like electricity. With it was the most terrifying presence you had ever felt, but through your tears, you could now make out the two men, both outlined in murky colors you couldn’t immediately identify…and one figure beyond them, outlined in the most fantastic flare of fiery orange you had ever seen. / This…this had never happened before…what was…?"_
> 
> Papyrus' arrival scares one of the men away, but the other isn't so easily deterred. Getting tossed around by Papyrus' magic changes his mind, however, and the second man flees. Readz is too weak from her Soul attack at this point to explain what's happening to Papyrus. As soon as he checks on her and sees how bad she's doing, he picks her up and calls her older brother, Jackson, for what to do. As he does, Readz blacks out...


	8. The House Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, gang! So, after the cliffhanger ending from the last chapter (and the darker subject matter, let's be real), I thought it'd be nice to update a little more quickly this time around. I hope you guys enjoy! -S

When you wake up, guess what? You feel like absolute shit. But considering the last thing you remember is almost getting raped and maybe killed by a pair of men you didn’t even know, _and_ said near-rape-and-possible-murder triggered a Soul attack, feeling like shit was normal. Hell, at least you were still alive…right? You were alive, weren’t you? Ugh, if only you had the energy to open your fucking eyes!

“is she…?”

“______?”

“ _Ohmygodshe’swakingupthankfuck._ ”

Well, your hearing wasn’t shot at least. Though you definitely wished you could do more than flutter your eyes weakly and moan a little as you tried to get the strength to sit up. God knows your siblings (and Papyrus, evidently) needed the comfort of knowing you were okay.

“easy, hon, easy. don’t strain yourself,” Papyrus says as you feel his hand come to rest on your arm. It makes your heartrate pick up a bit to have him call you by that nickname with your siblings there, since it had just been between the two of you before. (Not that the contact hurt things either. How had you not really noticed until now that his bones were so warm and comforting? Jesus, focus, ______!)

There’s a pause, and you suddenly notice beeping in the background. Raya speaks up before you get the chance to analyze the noise, however.

“What did you just do?” she growls at Papyrus, who removes his hand from your arm.

“nothing.”

“Bullshit!”

“i didn’t do anything, i swear on the stars! i just touched her arm! you heard what i said! what the hell else could i have possibly done without you noticing?”

“Easy, Papyrus. You too, Raya,” Jackson finally interrupts. (Thank god for your level-headed big brother.) “I realize everyone’s on edge right now with what happened to ______, but she’s trying to heal. And, as we all just confirmed, she’s waking up. I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear us bickering. Groan if I’m right, ______.”

You do as instructed because, frankly, you _don’t_ want to hear them fighting. You still feel like shit and just want to A, sleep, and B, be left alone. But you also want to wake up properly and comfort them, too, because you know they’re worried beyond belief. Aw hell, if they were worried, imagine what your other friends are going through right now! You don’t want anyone to worry about you…dammit, this sucked!

“See? She doesn’t wanna hear it. And frankly, neither do I. So please, both of you, calm down. Don’t make me throw you out of the room.”

After a pause and a pair of huffs, a long sigh from Raya had you turning your head in her direction.

“I’m sorry, ______. Just…we almost lost you today. Again. I…I don’t…I know I’m half perseverance, but…”

You make a small noise and twitch the hand on the side she’s standing on, hoping she gets the idea. Evidently, she does, and she takes your hand and gives it a tender squeeze a moment later.

“God, I know what you’d be saying right now. ‘Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m alright. I lived, didn’t I? I’ll be okay. Please don’t cry. It’s my fault anyway.’ Like shit like this could ever actually be your fault. But knowing you…”

Raya chuckled dryly, and you could hear the tears in her voice. She was right, of course. You’d be saying things just like that, trying to reassure her you were okay, and there was nothing to fear. But it really didn’t make the situation any better when you didn’t even have the strength to actually say the words yourself.

“would…would you really be blaming yourself for what happened, hon?” Papyrus asked, and though your heart did flutter a little at the use of the nickname, it sank as well. Honestly? Yeah, you probably would be blaming yourself. There were any number of excuses and reasons you could have given for how else you could have handled the situation, or gotten help, or gotten out of there…something different than what happened. You knew there was nothing you could have done about the two men who attacked you, but there were a lot of things you could have done differently. So you sigh for him, twitching your free hand in Morse code for yes.

(It was the best you could do without the usual “do this or that once for yes and twice for no” crap. Besides, you had been mute once. You knew more than one way to communicate nonverbally.)

“Her heart monitor did it again…” Raya sniffed, sounding both accusatory and confused. She then added in a much more sure tone, “She said yes. She would be blaming herself. The hand twitches were Morse code. We all learned it growing up.”

“______, do you have any idea why your heart would be beating faster than it’s supposed to?”

You could feel you face heating up as embarrassment set in, your heart picking up a little again. At least a heart monitor explained the beeping…but then, where were you?

You twitched out another yes, but didn’t elaborate. Jackson and Raya both prodded, but you refused to tell them. You would if Papyrus wasn’t still in the room, but with him here…you didn’t want anything to happen to the skeleton with you still down for the count.

Since you wanted to change the topic, you were quick to twitch out the word “where,” so they understood you were asking where you were. It still took a second for them to get it. Guess your siblings were rustier than you in Morse code.

“Oh, where…where are we?” Raya questioned, to which you signal a yes. “We’re in a private room in the hospital. Papyrus brought you here to get you help, and when we got here, we ordered a private room in a wing of the hospital that’s not frequently used. No one should disturb us here.”

Okay, private room in a mostly abandoned wing of the hospital. Good. Which likely meant…you slowly twitched out the name “Dr. Kimiwara” as a question.

“Yep. Called her after hanging up with Papyrus,” Jackson confirmed. “She’s already had a look at you and is finally meeting with the ER doctors that started treating your physical wounds.”

You manage a sigh. Dr. Peony Kimiwara was your family’s private doctor. She technically worked as a surgeon for the hospital, but after your parents had passed, she had approached your siblings with an offer of being on call for your family specifically. She only asked for fees or favors if she had to, like if she had to go out of her way to get something, or step out of her field of expertise, and you all had been working with her since taking her up on her offer.

Rumor was that she had been the surgeon in charge of you after your accident. With you the only one actually able to be saved and still being paralyzed from the waist down for so long, the rumor was that she had offered her services to you out of guilt and pity. You were never sure if that was true, but if it was, that was only part of it. The other part was that she was one of the only doctors in town who was also a mage, and secretly practiced as a magical injury and ailment specialist. Since she came forward as a mage doctor, she was one of the only mages your siblings trusted getting anywhere near you or your Soul.

“who are you talking about?” Papyrus asked. “that doctor that came and looked at her before you guys forced me out of the room?”

Raya confirmed it with a sigh, explaining who Dr. Kimiwara was to Papyrus. He seemed surprised to know she was a mage, but just sighed and accepted it, especially after they explained about her being one of the only ones they trusted with you.

“why’s that? that you don’t trust other mages, i mean. i’d get it if you guys were monsters, or even regular humans, but…”

“Because our parents’ deaths wasn’t an accident,” Raya replied darkly.

“We know another mage was involved somehow…but we don’t know who, how many, or why,” Jackson added, his voice weighed down with undertones of the hate he’d carried with him since the accident. “And until we know who we can trust, we don’t get involved with any other mages if we can help it.”

“Dr. Kimiwara is one of the few exceptions.”

“and now i see why. fair enough. fuck, that’s…heavy shit. can’t believe…i don’t wanna ask, ‘cause it’s not my business, but…”

“You want to know why we think it wasn’t an accident?” Jackson provided, his tone cold. There was a hesitation, but your big brother sighed, and when he continued, there was a certain weariness in his voice that you knew had more to do with your circumstances than you.

“Don’t mind explaining, but now’s not the time or place. How are you holding up, ______?”

You were a bit surprised that they even remembered you were still awake to hear them at this point, but you twitched out a response anyway.

“Just ok? No…darkness, nothing cold, nothing numb…?” Raya hesitantly prodded, and you sighed what little you could.

“No, just needing rest. Got it. Good,” your sister sighed, and a second later, you heard a door creak open.

“Hey, Peony,” Jackson greeted her, his voice tired. You had no doubt he _was_ tired. How long had you been out? How badly beat up were you? Was there any new damage to your Soul? You had about a thousand questions you really should have already been asking swirling around in your head.

“Hey, guys. I don’t believe I got to be properly introduced to your guest. I’m –”

“the family doctor. i already know. they filled me in.”

“Huh. Understood, smartass. Doesn’t mean I know who you are.”

You tried to smile, a breathy sound coming out that was supposed to be a laugh. You had always loved Dr. Kimiwara’s sass and honesty. She was blunt and to the point. Even with bad news, she didn’t sugarcoat or go easy on someone. That’s why you and Raya got along so well with her. All three of you had blue for integrity.

“Oh, she’s awake. Good. I was worried those shit-sticks they have working in the ER might have fucked her over. ______, my angelic little miracle patient. How are you? How do you feel?”

You twitch out one word that has your siblings and the good doctor laughing once they translate – shit.

“As I expected. As always in these situations, I’ve got good news and bad news. Which pill do you want first, kids?”

(It was weird to still be called kids by anyone other than her. She had been in her early twenties when she had taken on your family, and had more or less watched you all grow up. Now in her mid- to late forties, she was becoming a creature of habit, and habit was for her to refer to all of you as kids.)

“Bad,” your siblings both say at the same time, you twitching out the same answer. You wanted to save the good as a silver lining.

“Alright. First…”

“what?”

“Oh, uh…” Raya starts, and you realize a second later what’s wrong. Papyrus isn’t a member of the family, and this is private stuff. You twitch on his side, rolling your head to where you knew him to be sitting. His hand found yours, and you could feel he was leaning forward from the weight in his touch. You give his hand a gentle squeeze before twitching your fingers on Raya’s side to speak.

“She says…’Sibs explain later. Best wait outside. Promise.’”

“you sure, ______?”

You try again to smile. He’s so sweet, to be worried about you. Given that he had almost not made it the second time he’d saved your life, you could understand why he might be hesitant to leave your side, but you knew this was a personal thing, and you weren’t really ready for him to hear the whole dark and gruesome truth of everything.

“She said yes. And promise. I guess she’s promising you it’ll be okay…” Raya replied for you, and you try your best to smile. You feel Papyrus squeeze your hand a little, and you can practically picture the anxiety etched onto his skull as he does. For some reason, it makes your heart flutter, and the heart monitor responds accordingly.

“______?” Dr. Kimiwara asks, and you can hear the raised eyebrow in her tone. “You okay, kid?”

You quickly twitch out an embarrassed yes, and Papyrus’ hand leaves yours a second later. You can hear his footsteps as he pauses at the door.

“i’ll…just…be in the hall. call if you need me, hon.”

Your heart flutters at the nickname, but he closes it before you have time to respond.

“He’s doing something to her, I just know it,” Raya immediately spits out once the door is closed. You try to scowl and roll your head, hoping your frown is visible to your sister.

“Don’t think she much cares for your criticism,” Jackson retorted with a chuckle. Good, so you could at least manage a frown. (Why were you suddenly reminded of a scene out of a medical drama, like _House_ or _Grey’s Anatomy_?)

“Maybe not, but –”

“Raya, Jax. Now’s not the time,” Dr. Kimiwara interrupted bluntly, and silence descended. She sighed before continuing.

“You wanted the bad news first, so here it is – ______’s Soul almost shattered from whatever caused her Soul attack. And there _is_ some new damage. I hate to break it to you guys, but…honestly, kids? One more Soul attack like that…either it’ll go dark and she’ll live out the rest of her days as a husk, or it’ll shatter immediately.”

“God…” Raya whispered, and you felt her hand grip yours tightly.

“How bad’s the new damage?” Jackson asked after a hesitation. “Is it something we can train and heal away?”

You could hear the fear and tears in Raya’s voice, and the raw desperation in Jackson’s. It tore at you to hear them like this.

“Not likely,” Dr. Kimiwara answered softly. “You all knew her Stats before, yeah? The three HP? Now she’s down to one-point-five.”

You sucked in a gasp with your siblings. Your max HP had _dropped?_ You were even weaker than before! Half your HP, just gone! As if only having three before wasn’t bad enough!

“The brightness hasn’t changed since we brought it back up, but I can’t stress enough how careful you need to be. I know you’ve kept a careful eye on her since the last one brought her down from five to three, but clearly, something has changed since then that caused this. And it _cannot_ happen again. I hate to say it, but…until something can be done to stabilize your Soul and repair it, ______...I don’t have much choice. Either she stays in my care, or when she goes home, she stays there. No physical contact with the outside world if it can be helped. Basically, medical house arrest.”

“Are you fucking _kidding me?_ ”

“Peony, you know that’s not going to work,” Jackson pointed out. “We won’t let her out of our sight, and keeping her under house arrest – the lack of freedom would kill her.”

“I’m sorry, kids, but there aren’t other options. ______’s Soul is too unstable at this point. There’s never been a reported case of _anyone_ with HP as low as hers, and it was a risk to even let her go home without professional medical supervision after it dropped below _five_.”

“No. No! We can’t seriously be considering this!” Raya burst, and you could feel her outrage in how hard she was holding your hand.

“Raya, stop it,” Jackson ordered.

“No! We’ve been trying to help her heal and get her back out into the world since her first Soul attack, and every time we have to bench her, it gets worse and worse! And it’s because either we have to, or we’ve watched her restrict her own freedoms one by one! It’s become so bad, she’s more or less a hermit, and it’s like pulling teeth to get her to leave at all! But she still didn’t mind going out when she felt safe, and she’d paint, and talk, and laugh, and sing, and…and taking that away…she has given so much already. Isn’t there something we can do? _Anything?_ ”

Eventually, she let go of your hand, and every word she said made tears come to your eyes. She was right. Raya was right about everything. You hadn’t complained about it up until now because the taking away of those freedoms and locking yourself away had made you feel safe. But there was only so much you could give before there was nothing left, and the loneliness consumed you.

You whimpered a tiny bit, since you couldn’t make much noise right now, and twitched out a desperate, “Please.”

There was silence following your tears and whimper and coded message, and you were afraid that the answer would be your doom. Finally, Dr. Kimiwara sighed heavily.

“There is… _one_ thing. But it’s so improbable, I wouldn’t recommend trying.”

“What? What is it?” Raya demanded, and you could hear the tears in her voice. “Please, Doc. Anything.”

“I’m telling you, it won’t work. The chances of this –”

“Peony,” Jackson interrupted. He paused, then, his voice brittle, added, “Please. For ______.”

You could almost hear those words stabbing the doctor in the heart before she sighed heavily again.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. The only other option in a situation this bad…is for her to bond with someone.”

“Bond with someone?” Jackson blurted. He sounded incredulous…and a bit angry himself. It was rare for your big brother to lose his temper over anything.

“She _has_ bonds with people! She has us! And that hasn’t done her any damn good. She has friends, even, Peony, and that’s gotten her next to nowhere. So what the fuck do you mean she has to bond with someone?”

“It means you need to shut your goddamn trap and listen to me, Jackson. What she needs is a strong bond, stronger than that of friends. Stronger than even family. She needs a Soul bond. An unbreakable one, with the strength for her to do better than survive. With the right Soul bond, she can even heal from the damage she’s taken over the years. But the chances of that working are slim to none.”

“Why?” Raya asked quietly. It was hard to ignore how young and innocent she sounded when she asked…

“Because she can’t bond with just anyone. And the odds of finding the person she’s meant to bond with are stacked extremely _not_ in our favor.”

The doctor’s words were met with silence, but you hardly noticed. You were too busy thinking.

A Soul bond…something more than just friends or family…but what could that –

You twitched hard the second it hit you. The orange thread coming off your Soul! Was that the bond Dr. Kimiwara was talking about? And did that mean you had already started forming a bond with that person? But who…?

“______? You okay?” Raya asked, and as her fingers gently petted your hand, you began to twitch rapidly in reply.

“Orange thread…?” Dr. Kimiwara muttered, but the soft gasps from your siblings meant they had come to the same conclusion you had.

“When we checked her Soul the morning of her Soul attack,” Jackson explained, “we both noticed an orange thread coming off her Soul, disappearing into the distance. We couldn’t touch it, and it was barely visible, but it was there. From what we could tell, it wasn’t causing any harm, so we decided to look into it more later. Well, turns out later is right now. You know anything about that, Peony?”

“Y-yes. I do. And, shockingly enough…that means she’s already found them. The person she’s meant to bond with.”

“I knew it!” Raya blurted, but it was muffled, like she’d been trying to hold it in.

“But! But, the bond won’t grow unless you can find out who the other half is, and strengthen it. Only when the bond is strong enough can the Souls be formally bound to one another, and thus be strong enough to heal her.”

“Wait a – whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jackson interjected, sounding particularly overprotective brother-ish. “You didn’t say anything about binding their Souls. You mean to tell us that it’s not just a special bond – she has to be _bonded?_ Like, claimed, destined to be that person’s mate, bonded?”

You jerk again, wishing you could sit up and speak. Because _what?!_ You, bonded, to be someone’s mate?! No fucking way. You still wanted control over your love life, thank you very much! And this was _your_ Soul, after all. You should have the final say.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean…______, you alright?”

You were twitching madly, signaling “no” as much as you possibly could.

“What’s wrong, sis?”

“I think…I think she’s really against that idea. I think she doesn’t want to be bonded.”

“Well, tough cookies, little miss,” Dr. Kimiwara sighed. “It’s either that, or risk never seeing the light of day again. So, what’s it going to be?”

You hesitate hard, having to decide. Well, damn! You had to give up something either way, but one way at least didn’t risk your life so much as the other. So that meant…either your freedom, and eventually, your life…or you give your Soul to someone else to save your Soul. Damn…there really wasn’t much of a choice to make, was there?

Slowly, making yourself code out every letter, you spell “Soul bond.”

“That’s your choice? Find your mate and bond with them? Are you sure?” Dr. Kimiwara confirmed. You sighed and signaled a yes. Your doctor sighed, and her heels clicked closer on the tiled floor.

“Alright, then. Since we were in emergency mode before, the bond probably wasn’t visible. I’ll need to take your Soul out again, just for a moment. I need to get a look at this…orange thread.”

You suck in a quick breath and signal yes, that was fine. You were prepared. A second later, your Soul leaves your chest, and you shudder. God, it hasn’t hurt like this in ages…the new damage must still be really raw if you can feel it. You quickly twitch out the question, “how long out?”

“How long were you out?” Raya clarifies. “You’ve been recovering for almost a week.”

“Five days,” Jackson specified at the way your hands clenched immediately. “And we already emailed your YouTube people, and sent out the appropriate messages or emails for everyone requesting art. We’ve got you covered, baby sis.”

While that was good to hear, it was still shocking. Five days out cold…well, it _had_ been a really bad Soul attack. But five days? That’d cut into your schedule for sure. Plus, that meant five days without talking to anyone who’d known you were going out besides Papyrus and your siblings.

“Friends? Oh, you mean like Alphys and Undyne. They came by the house asking, so we had to explain. And I got a call from Sans asking about you. I…couldn’t bring myself to tell him what was wrong,” Raya admitted with a sigh. “So I just told him you were having some health issues and could only have a select few visitors. Anyone outside of that was out of the question. All he asked was that I pass on well wishes and that he hoped to see you again soon.”

You just about started crying at that. Sans was so sweet, goddammit! You wanted to do something for him in return for his kindness, but bedridden as you were…your options were limited. You’d do something as soon as you were able, though – you were determined to let him know his concern didn’t go unnoticed.

“Oh! Feel a bit determined about something, ______? Your Soul got brighter. That’s good. Whatever it is, hold on to that. You’ll need everything you’ve got in that survivor’s fighting spirit of yours to pull through this. Now, this thread you talked about. Is this it?”

You gasped a little, feeling a light touch to…something. It wasn’t directly to your Soul, but it was something connected to it that you could feel. And it made the heart monitor beep faster to match your racing heart.

“Yeah, but…how are you touching it? And is ______ okay?” Jackson immediately asked.

“The fact that you couldn’t touch it before was a sign. The bond was there, but just barely. It had yet to solidify. Now it can be touched, but only by magic. You have to be accessing your magic not to phase right through it. That’s good, because it means the bond is already stronger. And she’ll be fine. Now that the thread – the bond – can be touched, she can feel it. And that means the other half can, too. The hard part will be finding out who the other person is.”

“How do we do that?” Raya prodded.

“Two ways. One, find someone who can analyze Soul and magic colors for their specific shades and indicators to figure out who this particular orange thread belongs to. Or two…and this is an unproven theory, mind you, but…if you give it a tug, it should give a hell of a response.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s give this damn thing a good pull!” Raya pushed, and you could feel her weight dipping the bed you were laying in as she reached. Panic suddenly gripped you, and you jerked away from her, groaning as loud as you could.

“Raya, what the fuck are you thinking?” Jackson scolded immediately. “______’s still recovering. We don’t know how pulling on it will affect her, or whoever the hell she’s connected to. We need to lay off and wait until she’s healed more before we go experimenting. Got it?”

Raya growled, and you could practically feel her annoyance, but she backs off, her weight disappearing from the edge of the bed. Your heart slows down as you calm, the thread no longer in anyone’s grip, and your Soul is returned to your chest. You aren’t expecting it, so it surprises you, but it’s a welcome feeling.

God, all of this made you so tired, though…you really wanted to snuggle your kitty and sleep off the experience…

“So we got all the bad news first. What was the good news?” Jackson asked.

“Good news was the ways to save her. And that, as soon as she’s stable enough to be up and moving again on her own, she’s cleared to go home. I’ve already booked it with the hospital staff. She gets special treatment, so visiting hours never _have_ to end, she can have outside food and shit, any electronics she wants…you get the idea. Just be sparing with the privileges. I can only keep them complacent with so much.”

“Understood. Thank you, Dr. Kimiwara.”

“Of course, kids. Want me to send the skeleton back in?”

“Sure.”

“No.”

There was a pause after your siblings’ conflicting simultaneous answers before the good doctor snorted in amusement.

“I’ll talk to him and see what I think, then. Rest up, ______. I’ll see you soon.”

You groan softly, struggling to stay awake now. You were so exhausted…eh, fuck it. They would understand if you fell asleep again, right?

You start to drift off, but a moment later, the door shutting again jolts you back awake.

“how’s she doin’? gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Jackson sighed, “but we’ve got some serious hoops to jump through to get her back on her feet again. It’s making us all a bit nervous and antsy.”

“think some healing magic might help? i know a few people who could help. all monsters, so a solid crowd. i can pull some strings.”

“Not necessary, Papyrus,” you hear Raya respond, but you miss whatever else she said. You were dozing off again. You stir again when you feel something solid on your arm. Bone. Warm bone. Comforting…

“______?”

You manage a small noise to let him know you were listening.

“let me know if you need anything, okay, hon? i’ll be right here as long as they’ll let me stay.”

You make another noise of affirmation, content to slip back to dreamland without further interruptions. You can hear their voices speaking over you, but you’re not listening. It’s like listening through water. Before you know it, their voices have faded away, and so has the gentle beep of the heart monitor.


	9. The Ouran High School Host Club Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heads up - this chapter is kinda sad and dark in parts, because there's a portion that finally delves into our protagonist's past! Also, as I'm sure you noticed (and mentioning it just in case you didn't), **there are some new tags in place** , which directly deal with that. Unfortunately, the warning bits are of major importance to the plot. Since that's the case, I won't be making it skippable, so if you need someone to read the chapter for you and break it down, I highly encourage that. _**Don't put yourselves at risk for the sake of a story, guys!** Trust me, it's not worth it!_ That said, be careful, and happy reading!

It took a few more days to heal up enough to be able to get a normal sleep schedule back, let alone speak and eat normally. But you ended up managing it, and once you were back to a semi-normal schedule, you could focus your energies elsewhere – like on the fact that Papyrus rarely left your side, even when your siblings couldn’t be there. (Raya was still looking for a job, but she was with you more often than not as well.)

When you questioned how long he’d been there (after catching him napping at your bedside in a very uncomfortable-looking position), he confessed he’d been too nervous to leave after the incident until you woke up. You were touched, of course, but had two big questions about that.

“What about your job? Don’t you need to go to work?”

“kinda, but i worked it out with my boss. he’s a cool guy, and he’s letting me use this as vacation days. since he runs his own business, he can get away with stuff like that. he’s got a part-timer filling in for me in the meantime.”

“Okay…but what about Sans? Does he know what’s going on? He knows you’re here, right?”

Papyrus had hesitated at the time. You knew that wasn’t a good sign.

“he knows some of what happened, yeah. and he knows i’m with you. but i didn’t tell him everything that happened, and i didn’t tell him where we are. he’d just come rushing up to see you, and i don’t know that you’re ready for him yet. and if he knew what happened…well, i’m trying to keep things on the down low for now, and he’s not the best secret keeper.”

“Oh. Well, what _does_ he know?”

“he knows you were attacked again while i wasn’t there, and that i was too late to stop them from hurting you pretty bad. he knows that i did chase them off and got you help. but i left out the gritty details – just how bad your injuries were, the state i found you in…that kind of stuff.”

“Oh…yeah, I don’t want him knowing about that unless it’s necessary. I don’t wanna worry him…”

Papyrus had sighed, and the matter was dropped after that, though you got the feeling he had something to say about it that he was holding back. Probably for the best until you were back on your feet, anyway.

After you were well enough, Jackson and Raya started bringing stuff up to your room at the hospital for you to get back to work with – your phone, your laptop, your drawing tablet, a controller and headset to use on games…they only avoided bringing stuff that was too obvious, like your painting gear. Luckily, you had finished all your physical commissions before the incident, so you didn’t have any to work on at the moment anyway.

Papyrus had been hesitant about seeing you get back to work so soon, but since he couldn’t really stop you, he just watched and kept you company. Most of the time, he was quiet, just watching you work. It was nice, just quiet bonding without having to say a word. You and Undyne did it often, since you both were so shy normally. (Though you refused, if only to yourself, to work on the _Okami_ piece with Papyrus watching – it would be too weird. And probably a bit of a slap in the face if you explained what had inspired the piece, anyway.)

After close to a week awake and mostly well, you found yourself sighing and putting down your tablet pen, too distracted to work on this commission.

“what’s up, buttercup?”

“I’m worried…I haven’t posted anything in over a week now as to why my sudden disappearance. At least, not on my YouTube channel. Not everyone checks my social media feeds, you know. I know Dr. Kimiwara wouldn’t help me film anything either, so I’ve been trying to think of how to convince my siblings to help me record at least a quick vlog thing. But they’re either not here enough, or I know they’d disapprove.”

“jax and raya, in that order?”

“Yep. So I’m not sure what to do.”

“well…what if… _i_ helped you film your vlog episode?” Papyrus offered after a second. You perk up at the idea, but bite your lip, too. You’d thought of that, but hadn’t wanted to impose, especially since he was already spending so much of his time with you. But to have him suggest it was another matter…right?

“I-if you don’t mind…” you mutter meekly, fidgeting with a lock of hair. Papyrus smiled and detangled your fingers from your hair, looking…actually kind of excited. (Right, he was a fan, wasn’t he? You’d almost forgotten already.)

“don’t mind at all, miss foxynerd.”

You giggle, relaxing a bit, and nod. But you frown and hum in thought a second later. You weren’t really sure what to say, nor were you even sure how you were going to record it. A phone camera wouldn’t record for long enough, and your laptop’s built-in webcam had pretty shitty quality – it was designed for gaming and work, not for recording things. Not to mention the mic wouldn’t pick you up well from how far away he’d have to stand anyway. So what to do…?

“figuring out how to work it without your setup?”

“Yeah…”

“i could see about borrowing a camera or camcorder or something from undyne. she has a few lying around that she uses to record her experiments from time to time. i’m sure she wouldn’t mind us borrowing one.”

“You think? I mean, it feels like a lot to ask of both you and her…”

“don’t worry about it, hon. she’s your best friend, right? i’m sure she’ll be more than happy to help. i’ll get in touch with her and let her know i’m stopping by. when do you wanna do this?”

“As soon as possible. Like I said, it’s been over a week. I don’t want to keep anyone waiting for an update any longer than is necessary, you know?”

“i getcha,” Papyrus nods, “i’ll text her now, then, and see what she replies with before i pop over ta surprise her.”

“Sounds good. I guess…I’ll just…keep working in the meantime.”

Papyrus nods again, but he’s now got his phone in his hand, and he’s typing away. Texting Undyne, no doubt. She knew what your situation was – you have texted her the nitty-gritty details of everything, since she knew about your Soul situation and Stats and such – so she knew why hangouts were out for a while. Especially until you could figure out the thing with who you had to have your Soul bonded to.

That was probably something you should tell Papyrus, now that you were thinking about it. But was it too soon for that? Explaining to him the details of your Soul situation and your precarious Stats? And…your past? What lead up to this? Were you ready for that?

“earth to space cadet. do you read? over.”

You jump, so spaced out with your thoughts that you hadn’t noticed him speaking right away. You instantly laugh at yourself.

“Sorry, sorry. I read, Houston. Over.”

Now it was Papyrus’ turn to laugh, and it made your heart happy to get him to laugh.

“so what’s on your mind, space cadet?”

You snort before replying, “Just thinking about something. I’m…it’s something pretty heavy, and…I’m not sure if I even wanna talk about it.”

“then don’t,” Papyrus answered bluntly, to your surprise. “if you’re on the fence about saying something, then there’s a reason you don’t feel ready to say it. wait until you do. you’ll know when the time is right.”

“But…what if that time is never? What if I can’t tell when I should tell someone, even if it’s something that puts me in danger or something?”

Papyrus raised a brow bone and slowly said, “is it?”

You struggle with that for a minute. Finally, you murmur, “I don’t know.”

“how do you…it’s something important, right?”

“Yeah.”

“is it something that’s put you in danger in the past?”

“I think…maybe?”

“is it something that’s putting you in danger now?”

“Kinda…”

“is it something that’ll put you in danger in the future?”

“Probably…”

The more you answered towards the affirmative, the more worried he sounded. It wasn’t like you could help it, though. This was your Soul, after all.

“and you’re worried about not knowing when is the right time to tell someone about it.”

Not a question. You nod, trying not to fidget with your hair.

“have you told anyone before?”

“Well, yeah. People do already know. There’s just not much that can be done about it. It’s just…when do I let other people know about it, you know? I don’t…trust many people. It’s hard for me to get close to anyone, with as shy as I am. People think I’m weird. So I just keep to myself. It’s easier that way. And safer. It’s always safer if the circle stays small.”

“huh?”

“The circle. Of people I trust, I mean. Like a circle of friends. When we were kids, it was just my brother and sister. Then Dr. Kimiwara, even if a bit distantly. Slowly, I learned to branch out, and that circle grew to include Undyne and Alphys. And even if I’m hesitant because of how hard it is for me to get close to people, I’m starting to let you and Sans into that circle, too. But…technically, you’re not in the circle yet, and I…well…those in the circle know. A-about the thing, I mean. I’m…worried about when I should say something about it…”

There was a long pause before Papyrus sighed. You glance to him at the sound, and you can’t help but notice how tired he looked. (How much sleep had he been getting? You sometimes caught him napping at your bedside, but was he actually resting at all? It was impossible to tell.)

“this is one of your secrets, isn’t it? one of those things you said makes you the way you are, but you’re not okay talking about them.”

“Y-yeah…”

“well…honestly, i stand by my first statement. everyone has secrets. everyone has been through some shit in their lives. yours just happens to come with a lot of baggage. frankly, so does mine. ‘n if you’re still on the fence about telling me or sans, then wait. you’ll know when the time is right. you’ll feel it. you knew when it was right to tell alphys and undyne, yeah?”

“Well…yeah…”

“then me ‘n sans won’t be any different. just don’t sweat about it too much, ‘kay, hon? you look better when you’re smilin’.”

He goes to ruffle your hair at the last sentence, and though you manage to duck and dodge his hand, you can’t help but giggle, you heart swelling at his praise and sweet advice. He even complimented you…! (Why does it feel like you’re on a cloud now? Who cares, you’re so stupidly happy!) You mumble a shy thanks, and as if on cue, Papyrus’ phone goes off.

“undyne. she says we can definitely borrow one of her cams, and…huh…she knows exactly which one she’s gonna let us borrow.”

A red flag went up in your head, the same as it obviously had in Papyrus’ from his suspicious tone.

“Maybe it’s the only one that’s blank…?” you offer hesitantly, wanting to believe your best friend wasn’t trying to pull something. “Or maybe it’s one she’s okay with us recording over or something.”

“maybe,” the skeleton responded, but he didn’t sound convinced. (Honestly, neither were you.) “i’ll ask when i pick it up, just to be sure. i won’t be gone long, hon. stay put, ‘kay?”

“Where am I gonna go?” you snort in amusement. “Disneyland?”

Papyrus snickers in amusement, and you can practically hear it echoing when he teleports. (Which was weird, given your room was not one that had echo-y surfaces. Must be some sort of weird Void or magic thing.)

It takes a few minutes at most for Papyrus to come back, and when he does, he’s eyeing the camera in his hands suspiciously.

“So? What’d she say?”

“she said it’s one we can record over…but she refused to say what’s already on it.”

“Huh…that’s not like her…”

“then you’ve never seen her at her shipping worst.”

“Good point. I forgot her and Alphys have a bet going on who’s gonna woo me,” you groan with a roll of your eyes. “I still can’t figure out who wants me together with who.”

“alphys is voting for sans, undyne’s rooting for me.”

“You knew? When’d you find that out?” you blurt.

“the night we talked on the phone,” Papyrus sighed. “she’d come over to my place so we could talk, remember?”

“Oh yeah…weird that she’d mention it.”

“kinda just…came up. and she blurted about her otp.”

“Of course,” you sigh, rolling your eyes again.

“so…wanna help me figure out what’s on this cam before we erase it?”

You hesitate, unsure. You want to, you’re curious enough, but…you’re also wary of what could be on it. What would Undyne record? Past experiments? Her and Alphys? Her friends? Herself, as a video diary or something? She’s never had a camera around you, so you have no idea. Maybe it’d be best not to pry…

“I dunno…I’m kinda torn.”

“you wanna, but you’re wary?”

“Yep,” you sigh, popping the P. Papyrus chuckles and gets the electronic turned on, opening up viewing screen on the side.

“tell ya what. if you can decide by the time i figure out how to navigate the menus, let me know. but i’ve gotta know what she has on this thing.”

You make a face, but nod. It still feels…wrong, somehow. But your curiosity is getting the better of you, too, even as you fight it.

“Okay, okay, I’m in. Get over here so I can see too,” you groan, as if he’d been twisting your arm on it. He chuckled again and moved so he was sitting on the edge of your bed, angling the camera so you could see the screen, too.

As soon as he manages to get into the viewing mode, you both pause. The first thing you see is a still frame from the video, and it’s dark. According to the indicators on the corners of the screen, it’s the last video recorded on the camera. Reaching over and taking the electronic from Papyrus’ hands, you squint hard at the dark image on the screen. You swore there was a shape. Something in the darkness you were struggling to make out.

“What the hell _is_ that…?” you mutter, taking the controls on a hunch and flipping backwards through the different videos. Each thumbnail is the same – darkness, with some shape in it that isn’t immediately recognizable. But to you, it looks vaguely like…

“I swear that’s a tentacle or something,” you say to Papyrus, pointing to the very first video as you hand it back. Papyrus squints at it for a long time, clicking buttons as well, until he hums in confusion.

“i dunno…but you’re right, there’s… _something_ there.”

“Let’s watch one of them and find out what it is,” you insist, scrolling back to the first one and selecting Play before he can protest.

You very quickly wish you hadn’t and regret the decision, because what you see and hear leaves you a bright red mess. You don’t even dare look at Papyrus as you watch, too mortified as your eyes remained glued to the camera screen. Speaking of your eyes, you’re going to want to bleach your eyes (and probably brain) after this, because you can already feel it searing into your mind.

It started simple enough. Undyne, in a dark room, recorded herself talking about the experiment she was working on. It had something to do with pills and “heats” and…testing out two different pill types and her control group. One for suppressing the “heats” and one for bringing them on. In this case, it was one to bring them on. Her test subjects were anonymous at their request, and she mentioned that both monsters were of the type that had trouble with irregular “heat cycles.” Both had almost non-existent cycles, and both of them would be given the pill to bring on a “heat,” to see how they reacted.

All of that was confusing, but just Undyne talking. As she was explaining which set of pills she was having them take, she administered the pills, then finished her speech. She then disappeared off camera, and the two monsters were left in the dark. But the bleach-your-brain part was coming.

It didn’t take long for the two monster test subjects to start complaining of feeling feverish, and fidgeting in the dark. Once Undyne gave them a signal, they both jumped off whatever they were sitting on before and practically attacked each other, the video devolving into nothing but sounds in the dark.

Passionate kisses being exchanged. Moans of pleasure, of all volumes and lengths. The squeaking of a mattress, along with a faint but detectable lewd squelching noise. And even once orgasms had been achieved, the video kept going. And going. _And going._

It took Papyrus finally tearing the camera from your hands and stopping the playback for you to finally react beyond that mortified facial expression, squeaking loudly and hiding your face in your pillow. You want to scream into the pillow, but resist, hearing bone on plastic as you stay right where you are.

“stars fucking above, undyne…” Papyrus mutters, then takes a shuddering breath. “uh. so. um. that…was a thing.”

You squeak a little in response.

“um. i’m…gonna…work on deleting those. all of it. because fuck no.”

You squeak again.

“…you, uh…gonna stay like that for a while…?”

You let loose a long muffled semi-scream into the pillow to confirm yes, you are staying right where you are.

“…great. i’m just gonna…delete. delete. delete. delete. gone. get outta here. fuck you in particular. delete…”

And on it went, Papyrus muttering about deleting each video. It took a minute to do, but eventually, he stopped.

“phew…that’s it. all gone. i think. maybe i should do a factory reset, just to be sure…and maybe figure out how to reset my brain while i’m at it…”

You make another muffled noise to indicate you felt the same. You knew you should’ve listened to your gut and not watched them. You knew it, you knew it, you knew it…

“uh…listen, i’m…gonna get something from the vending machines. i’ll be right back.”

You hum in response, feeling the shift in the room when he teleported. (Weird how sometimes, you were so sensitive to magic…)

You’re not sure how long it takes you, but it’s a good while before you’re okay to remove your face from your pillow, and when you do, you notice Papyrus has yet to return. It’s not like you were his keeper or anything, though, so it’s fine…besides, after that, you’re not sure how you can look him in the face again.

When Papyrus finally does some back, you blush and cast your eyes away, fidgeting with your hair. He comes over and gently pulls your fingers free, and you’re glad you opted to take off the heart monitor sensor, because your heart flutters at his soft touch. Hell, the damn thing leaps right up into your throat, and you all but choke on it as you glance up to stare at him. You both look away, and you mentally wince at yourself. Jesus, he can’t even touch you without you getting weird now. The ever-loving fuck was wrong with you? (Well, you could blame part of it on the video. That shit was awkward as fuck. Unexpected porno, basically? Yeah, it’d be weird for anyone.)

“um…ah…you, uh…still wanna…shoot that video of yours?”

“Oh, uh…y-yeah, sure.”

“great. what’d you have in mind?”

“Um…honestly, no idea. Especially after that,” you groan, clapping a hand to your face. You can almost feel how hard Papyrus is cringing.

“yeah, that, uh…i…i got nothin’.”

You sigh, but end up staring at your hands in your lap as you thought. What even _could_ you say to your fans? Then again, do you ever really plan out what you’re going to say before you do it?

“Might as well just wing it as always,” you grumble, rubbing the back of your neck. “Here, stand at the foot of the bed.”

Papyrus does, camera still in hand.

“Okay, how does that angle look?”

He’s confused for a second, then picks up your meaning when you glance to the camera. He checks it, then backs up some more. Once he stops, you take it he has the right field of view to work with.

“Okay, ready when you are, then.”

Papyrus nods, then presses a button, giving you a thumbs up a second later. You break into a tired, shy smile and focus on the lens, not the skeleton behind it.

“What’s up, guys? FoxyNerd here. And…today, I’ve got some really heavy news. So, I know not everyone follows me on my social media sites, and I’ve been absent on YouTube for…a while now. A-and I know I’ve been pretty quiet on my social feeds as well lately. Um. Well, here’s why. As you can see, I’m in the hospital. I have been since I disappeared. As, uh, fate would have it, I was out looking for a copy of a game, and I ran into the same guys that caused me trouble on my way home from the store two days before I vanished. They, uh…the first time, they saw me on my bike and tried to run me down. The second encounter, though…well, I found out not all of them were so bad. But they were drunk and high A-F, and two of them decided it’d be a great idea to jump me when my back was turned. I won’t lie, and I won’t try and sugarcoat this. They…they tried to rape me and threatened me with my life.

“As terrifying as that sounds, it’s not the worst part. See, I’ve had a lot mental and physical health issues since I was little, and when stressful, sometimes life-threatening things have happened in the past, it’s made my conditions worsen each time. And with the two men attacking me like that…well, it made things the worst they’ve been yet. Clearly, I’m still here – alive and kicking and functional – but I’m still recovering from the physical damage they did. Hence why I’m still a mummy. But, uh…well, I…it’s bad, guys. If I can’t fix what’s wrong with me, I may disappear for good. And it’s not something that can be fixed easily. I really can’t explain all the details now, but…I…want to…I want to explain why my uploads may become more erratic from now on. I don’t know if I’ll be able to record like I usually do, or work on things like I’d like. My content quality won’t change, I can say that much. I won’t let it. But the frequency will definitely dip, and I’m sorry for that. I really don’t wanna just…up and vanish on you guys, so I promise I’m gonna try to stay as consistent as possible.

“As for my mental and physical health issues…I’m…working on it. I’m trying, anyway. Me and my family, we have a solution. It’s just not that easy to…heh, well, easier said than done, ya know? But it still means I won’t be back for a while still, and…everything I already mentioned about uploads and stuff. But know that I don’t intend to go anywhere, so hopefully, the next update I post for you guys is me, out of the hospital, and back to doing my thing. In the meantime, I have to sign off before my doctor or siblings show up to scold me for doing this while I’m still recovering. I love you guys, and I will hopefully see you all again soon. This is your lady and queen, FoxyNerd, signing out.”

Papyrus stops the recording a second later, looking amazed.

“damn, ______. that was a great take. you wanna do it again, or…?”

“Nah. I usually do these in one take and edit them a bit. Winging it seems to work for me on that front,” you reply with a shy little smile, brushing a bit of hair over your ear. Papyrus nods, handing the camera to you.

“alright, then. so, what now?”

“Now I figure out how to get the video from the camera to my laptop,” you mutter, turning it over in your hands as you searched for a charger port or a retractable cable or something to plug in. (You end up lucking out – there’s a retractable cord tucked into the side of the outer casing. Nice.)

After moving the file over, you unplug the device and hand it back to Papyrus, focusing on your laptop to begin the editing process. Easily the most boring to watch part of being a YouTuber, you figured this was a good chance for Papyrus to get some rest while you worked.

It took longer than usual to edit the video, since your laptop wasn’t really meant for this particular set up, but once you had it ready, you save it to your laptop – and just in time, too. As you sigh and stretch, the door to your room opens, and the click of heels on tile tells you who’s coming in.

“Hey, ______. Guess you knocked him out, huh?”

You glance over to Papyrus, and much to your delight, he did fall asleep after all, leaning against your bed with his head on his arms.

“He needs the rest,” you reply softly, taking the camera from next to his head and putting it on the table thing the hospital gave you.

“How can you tell…? And where’d that camera come from? You haven’t been working, have you?”

You give your doctor a little nervous chuckle before going to answer her first question.

“I know because I can tell. Sometimes I catch him taking a nap, but it’s not often, and he’s almost always here. He even admitted he’s got a thing worked out with his boss so he can be here instead of having to go to work. As much time as he spends here with me…I just have to wonder if he’s getting enough sleep.”

There’s a long enough beat of silence that you look to Dr. Kimiwara, and are a bit surprised to find that she has a mix of sadness and contemplation. Just as you open your mouth to ask her what’s on her mind, she begins speaking.

“Have you…talked to him? About what happened?”

You blink, realizing you hadn’t. Was that important somehow?

“Look, ______...I may not be a psychologist, but I’m pretty sure he’s blaming himself for you getting attacked.”

“But he wasn’t even there!” you protested, glancing to him after you accidentally raised your voice. He was still sound asleep, but you continued in a whisper anyway.

“He wasn’t even there. I sent him away to go get his car. There was no way he could’ve prevented them from attacking me. Unless he was psychic or had time bending powers or something, but that’s impossible, even for monsters. Why would he be blaming himself?”

“How should I know? I said I’m not a psychologist. I can’t get inside his head. You know that.”

“Yeah…sorry. Just…he shouldn’t be blaming himself. If anything, the attack was more on me. There was so much I could have done differently, or done better, and if I had, it might’ve even prevented me having another Soul attack. But we’ll never know, because things turned out the way they did.”

There was a pause, and a certain ache in Dr. Kimiwara’s voice when she whispered your name in response. She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself before continuing in a firm tone.

“You shouldn’t think like that. The attack on you wasn’t your fault, and you couldn’t have prevented it, either. Maybe he shouldn’t blame himself, but neither should you. If anyone is to blame, it’s the men who attacked you. They need to be judged and held responsible for their actions. But that’s neither here nor there. ______, you’ve seriously got to stop taking all the blame for yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you never have. You’re the victim. You didn’t cause this attack, nor any of the others before it. You weren’t the cause of the struggles you three kids have been through. And you most certainly weren’t the cause of what happened to you and your parents that landed you in my care. You are not to blame, and frankly, kiddo…I’m getting sick of seeing you beat yourself up over shit that has never been your fault.”

“Then why do I always feel so guilty…?”

The words slip out on a whisper before you can stop them, and tears roll down your cheeks to splash against your hands in your lap. You don’t even bother to try to wipe them away, and when you squeeze your eyes shut to push the tears out so you can see, Dr. Kimiwara is by your side, sitting on the edge of your bed and pulling you against her with a sigh. She may be a woman who’s rough around the edges at times, but she’s been a good secondary mother figure since you can hardly remember your own. Even now, when you need the comfort, she holds you close and just strokes your hair gently.

“Survivor’s guilt, probably. But you were five, ______. There was literally nothing you could have done, either to cause it, or save them. And I’m sure if your siblings knew you felt this way, it wouldn’t have gone on as long as it has. No?”

That was true. Raya seemed to have suspected it for a long time, but she had no proof, since anytime it got the better of you, you always just said you were tired and stayed in your room. If either of them found out, though, you knew they’d do everything in their power to put a stop to it.

You jumped slightly when you heard a soft yawn and felt Papyrus shifting as he stretched, hurrying to dry your eyes. You couldn’t let him see you like this…

“mm…must’ve dozed off…sorry, hon. whoa, hey, what’s wrong?” he immediately asked, spotting you scrubbing at your still wet eyes. Dr. Kimiwara let go of you to allow him access to you, and he gently cupped your face, wiping away your tears with worry etched on his skull. You burst into tears anew, overcome with how sweet he was being. God, you were such a hot mess…why was he even here? He obviously cared about you, but…

“We were just talking about something serious,” Dr. Kimiwara covered softly. “Probably my fault. I can be a bit callous at times.”

Papyrus didn’t seem to pay her any mind, though, looking more and more distressed that you ~~couldn’t~~ wouldn’t stop crying. It was probably a good thing, though, since it made it impossible to form coherent words at the moment, and anything you’d say would only worry him more.

Papyrus, kind and caring as he was, just continued to wipe your tears and shush you and murmur that it’d be alright. It felt…good to have him comforting you. Like him saying it was going to be okay was actually making it okay. In a way, it felt right, having him there. A part of you still argued back that he had no reason to be with you, and you didn’t deserve to have him there, but its voice was being smothered bit by bit, until it was more like a grumpy, unwanted guest sulking in the corner…still there, but less noticeable now.

Once you calmed down to just the occasional sniffle, hiccup, or broken sigh, Papyrus tried to pull together a smile for you.

“there we go, hon. don’t know what had ya so worked up, but it’s okay. ‘s not the end of the world or anything. it’s okay.”

Tried being the operative word for when he smiled. You noticed he looked…like he was wincing. Kind of like he was in pain, and not very good at masking it. Now it was your turn to reach out, brushing your fingers against his cheekbone with a feather-light touch.

“Are…are you okay?” you ask softly. (Yikes. Ribbit, much?) Papyrus looks surprised you asked.

“yeah, i’m fine, hon. it just…hurts to see you so upset,” he admitted slowly, and you could practically see it in his eye-lights. It was like it was a physical pain to him…your pain was his pain…something pulled at your heart with that thought, and you slid your arms around his neck for a hug. You caught him off guard, but he’s quick to hug you back anyway.

“I’m sorry…” you whisper, holding him tight. He hesitates, but returns the strength of your hug in turn.

“nothin’ to be sorry for, hon.”

After a pause, there’s a soft _ahem_ for attention. You both look to the sound, and you flush in embarrassment. Shit, you’d completely forgotten Dr. Kimiwara was still here. You’d been so focused on Papyrus…

He blushes, too, and he ends up letting go of you and scooting back a bit.

“Sorry, kiddos. Not to ruin the moment, but I do need to tend to my patient,” the doctor teases, and you both blush worse at that. Dammit, Doc…

You think you hear Papyrus mutter something under his breath along the lines of, “wasn’t a moment,” but you have a hard time making it out clearly. You’re pretty sure you also hear Kimiwara snort to herself and mumble something like, “Keep telling yourself that.” You’re just glad her examination doesn’t take long and she leaves again while making notes in your medical chart along the way. You’re not glad when she carelessly tosses back to you, “Don’t have too much fun alone up here, kids.”

“Kimiwara!” you burst, and you hear her chuckling as the door swings shut. Ugh. Why’d she have to be so much like a mom?

About a week later, you’re finally cleared to leave the hospital. Kimiwara makes sure it’s a hush-hush affair, but you’re still sitting out front in a wheelchair while Jackson brings one of the cars around to get you. And there are balloons tied to your chair. And you’re embarrassed as hell, listening to Raya giggle behind you as you sulk. You keep muttering to her to shut up, but she keeps snickering. Especially when a little girl also leaving the hospital asks the nurse attending her to get you a stuffed animal, since you don’t have one.

(You end up with quite possibly the ugliest tie-dyed teddy bear you’ve ever seen. The little girl stares at it for a minute straight, then asks to trade you for her bunny. It’s the cutest stuffed bunny you’ve ever seen, and you definitely hesitate to take it from her, but the tiny red-head insists. With the biggest grin on her face and a sparkle in her pale green eyes, she tells you she loves anything with lots of colors, and she’d rather have the teddy than the bunny. And so you trade her, just as her ride pulls up. She insists on hugging you before she gets in to leave.)

Jackson pulls around eventually, and Raya tells him all about the little girl as you take your time getting in. You swear, nothing will ever make you get over your wariness of cars. Not even when you know it’ll be safe.

Once you get home, both your siblings have the biggest smiles on their faces, and you’re beginning to wonder why, when they wheel you through the front door, and–

“ _Surprise!!_ ”

You screech something unholy and hide as best you can initially, but the laughter you hear sounds like familiar voices, and you peek at your surrounds.

Waiting for you in the entryway were balloons and streamers and a banner that read, “Welcome Home ______.” And under the banner was Sans and Papyrus and Undyne and Alphys, your siblings moving to join them, all with big smiles on their faces.

You uncoiled from your defensive position quickly upon the realization of what was happening. A surprise coming home party, just for you. It was like a jumpscare in a horror game, the initial fear and realization you were still safe. Once the fear washed away, you were touched that all your friends had shown up to welcome you home.

“Wow…sorry about that, guys! You got me really good,” you confessed. “But…this is amazing. Thank you.”

“What’re you thanking us for, nerd?” Alphys barked, coming around and slinging an arm roughly around your shoulders. “The party’s just getting started! Nothing to thank us for yet!!”

Turns out most of the party is an anime watching binge, since your favorite pass-times are all either single-person events, or you working on something. (And no one is having you work at your own party.) But after a few episodes of _Ouran High School Host Club_ , your siblings leave the room to go get some snacks with Alphys trailing after them, and Papyrus (sitting next to you), taps your leg for attention.

“What’s up?” you whisper to him.

“can we talk for a sec?” he whispers back, and you nod, having him help you up to hobble out into the hall.

“What’s up, Papyrus?”

“i…listen, i’ve been thinkin’. i know you’re still not completely better, even though you’ve been sent home and all. and i was thinking…i know a couple monsters with healing magic. it’ll fix you up faster than any human medicine, and do you a world of good Soul-wise. if you want – and with your sibs’ blessing, of course – i could pull some strings, get them to open up some time to see you.”

Oh…oh goddammit, Papyrus, being so sweet. But what was wrong with you wasn’t something that could be fixed with simple healing magic. And…honestly, it was probably best you finally explained everything. You were still hesitant, but he had already seen you through a lot more than he really should have ever had to. He deserved the truth.

“I…love that you’re so concerned, Papyrus. It’s sweet. Like, really, super sweet. But…it’s not that simple. I…hang on. We can’t talk here. Come with me.”

You manage to lead him upstairs and to one of your painting rooms. This was a conversation you needed privacy for, after all.

“what’s, uh…what’s on your mind, hon?”

You first push the door mostly closed, until it’s only just barely cracked, before having him sit down on the bed with you. (You make a mental note to thank your siblings’ good judgement later – they had insisted that all the painting rooms have a bed for you to take a nap in if you needed it.)

“Listen, Papyrus. I…I kinda have a long story to tell you. And you have to promise me that you won’t stop me or interrupt. No matter what I tell you. Okay?”

Papyrus looks hesitant, but he nods. You, however, know better than that.

“You have to promise me, Papyrus. I need you to say it. I know it’s not fair of me to ask, but I’ve been burned too many times by people saying one thing and doing another just because they didn’t swear to it.”

The tall skeleton gives you that look – the piercing one that sets you on edge – but you hold your ground. He quickly sees you won’t budge and sighs, taking your hands gently.

“okay, hon. you got me. i promise you – no interrupting and no talking until you’re done. and know i don’t make promises easily. so whatever you’ve got to tell me…go for it. i ain’t stoppin’ ya.”

You breathe a sigh of relief and nod, squeezing his hands gently in return.

“Thank you. Now…I hope you’re comfy. Like I said, it’s a long story.

“It…I guess it all kinda starts when I was little. My parents were big shot lawyers, and even though they were good at their jobs and liked by a lot of people…they had enemies, too. Enemies that wanted them dead. So, when I was five, my mom and dad came to pick me up from kindergarten like usual. We rode in the car. My mom sang along to something on the radio, some song my parents both knew, but Dad just held her hand over the center console and smiled while they drove. We got back to their office, and Dad got out first, running around to help me get out. Mom was busy messing with her phone and didn’t get out right away. We were a few feet away when the car door opened, and…and it happened.

“The car…there was this massive sound – an explosion, I found out later – and…I had been running ahead of Dad, so he was closer than me, but the blast still hit both of us. I heard the boom, and there was pain, all over my back and the backs of my legs and arms…and suddenly, I fell down, because I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. And I couldn’t hear, either. My ears were ringing from the blast. I couldn’t make my legs work, and everything hurt, and I couldn’t hear, but I knew something very, very bad had just happened. So I forced myself to turn around while laying on the ground, and…Mom…Mom was gone. There was this fireball sitting where the car had been, and Mom was just gone. Dad, he was…there was so much metal and shrapnel sticking out of him. He was on the ground, same as me. But he was looking at me funny, and twitching, like he wanted to move, but couldn’t. And the blood…so, so much blood…I couldn’t hear him, but I read his lips. I saw him say my name. He was twitching, and the blood, and metal, and…and I watched the light fade from his eyes. I watched my father die right in front of me, and I was only five. I was so little, I didn’t understand the concept of death, so I crawled over to him and cried and begged for him to stop it. Stop pretending. This wasn’t funny. He was scaring me. And I kept asking, ‘where’s Mom? Where’s Mom? What happened?’ But he just…stared at me, with those glassy, lifeless eyes. Eventually, I got my hearing back, but everything was a blur by then. Sirens and fire and paramedics and lights and people and screaming. It took me until they loaded me into the ambulance to realize that the screaming was me. And it didn’t sound human.

“Eventually, they had to sedate me, and by the time I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed with my siblings on either side of me. They cried when I woke up, and I wanted to be happy to see them. I wanted to ask where Mom and Dad were. But…I didn’t. I honestly didn’t even have it in me to speak. I was too weak. I went back to sleep pretty soon after that, and I was in and out for days. Sometimes, when the adults came to talk to Jax and Raya, I’d pretend to be asleep, just to listen. They said it was a miracle I’d survived. That it was a car bomb with a weight trigger, and they were still investigating. They were sorry for our loss. They said I would probably never walk again, even with physical therapy and surgery to try to fix the damage to my spine and legs. I didn’t understand most of it at the time, but I still listened. I knew. I knew there was something wrong with me, something they weren’t sure they could fix. But Jax and Raya insisted. So they tried.

“When I was finally healed enough to leave the hospital, the doctors and psychologists were baffled. Physically, I was better, but they knew from my siblings’ testimony that I was supposed to be a happy, bubbly, vibrant child. I was a kid who never stopped asking questions, never stopped learning, never stopped dreaming. But after the incident…after the explosion…everything changed. I was shy and reserved. I never asked questions. I never smiled or laughed. I never wanted to do anything for myself, and never, ever, ever spoke. I just watched and listened and observed. The psychologists said it was because of the trauma. Eventually I’d either grow out of it, or they’d finally hit something that’d crack the new personality and bring me back to myself, with enough time and patience. But they were wrong. Kimiwara and Jax and Raya all knew it, too. They knew what was wrong, and it was a diagnosis no normal doctor could’ve ever made. Kimiwara had, with permission, examined my Soul. And we saw raw wounds, still dripping from the damage…and…and an entire chunk missing from my Soul. The damage and missing part of my Soul were what had caused my sudden change, and the diagnosis was grim. I was going to die, supposedly sooner rather than later. The damage to my Soul was too great, and rarely did anyone ever survive that kind of thing. Those that did never lasted long after the incident. And something like a missing chunk of Soul? No healing magic could fix that. And because I was so numb from that part of my Soul that’d been ripped away, I…just accepted it. There were no tears, there was no anger. I felt…nothing.

“And it stayed that way, all through our childhood. My brother and sister fought and fought and fought for me. They managed to keep us together through our time at the orphanage. They kept us together through all the trials and ups and downs of my surgeries and physical therapy. They stayed by my side as we were bullied and teased and taunted and hurt. And it felt like I was just watching it all, like I wasn’t a part of it. Like it was happening around me, but it didn’t affect me. Because that missing part of my Soul kept me from feeling anything but numb and apathetic. It was like I was just a shell, a walking husk of who I used to be, instead of a person. Nothing mattered. The physical therapy with Kimiwara helped. It wasn’t her field, but she was with us every step of the way. She used her magic to help me feel better after tough sessions, and when I accomplished something, or met a goal…that was when I noticed. Near the end of the physical therapy, where I was finally getting my legs under me consistently and able to stand and walk again without help, I…I had begun to feel again. The warmth in my chest of happiness and pride for meeting a goal. The ache and sting of hearing kids fling negativity at me, or adults whispering when they thought I couldn’t hear. The curiosity of wanting to understand and learn, that drive to comprehend the unknown.

“We weren’t sure what caused it, but something had finally clicked. Bit by bit, I was getting better. My Soul was healing. The wounds no longer oozed the pain and suffering I couldn’t feel, and even though the damage and missing chunk remained, there was no doubt. I was damaged, broken, changed from the experience…but I was going to survive. Hell, I’d already well outlived everyone’s expectations, so by the time we noticed my Soul was healing, it was like a sign from the heavens. Another miracle. And every day since was another answered prayer. Let me keep getting better, let me continue to feel, let me have just one more day. And I’ve tried to make the most of every day I’ve gotten since. But there was still something holding me back.

“Because of the damage to my Soul, my Stats had changed. I would overhear Kimiwara and Jax and Raya talking about it, but I never understood them until you guys came back to the surface and Jax befriended Alphys. Originally, I had Stats like any normal little kid – HP twenty, no EXP, one LV, and a fluctuating AT and DF based on what I had with me at the time. But after…My HP was at a base of ten. My LV and EXP hadn’t changed, but my AT and DF had set values all of a sudden. My DF was…I think a two or three, and my AT was a flat zero, no matter what. Even with things that could have been classified as weapons, it stayed zero, like my Stats would change into the negative to keep it at zero. And my DF only went up when I had something of high sentimental value with me…but it never reached double digits or anything. Still, it wasn’t so bad. Not at first.

“When I was at my senior prom – god, I would’ve been…seventeen? Eighteen? I can’t remember for sure which – my date tried to pressure me into sneaking off to have sex with him. I refused, and even told him to forget us being together for prom, taking off the corsage he gave me and throwing it at him in disgust. But he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He managed to get me alone somehow, and dragged me away from the dance. Too far away from anyone to hear me if I screamed, and too far for anyone to come help if they did hear. I tried to fight back, but I literally wasn’t strong enough to keep him off me. When I asked if he was going to rape me, he said no. He…he wanted to make sure if he couldn’t have me, then no one could. And he pulled a knife and pressed the blade to my throat. It was the first time since I had begun to feel again that I felt fear – real fear, the kind that makes your heart skip and your blood run cold. The kind that makes you wanna scream or run or throw up or break down in tears or fight for your life. But I…I didn’t do any of those things. As soon as I realized how real the danger was, and I felt that overwhelming fear, it was like someone had ripped open the old wounds of my Soul. I gasped, because suddenly, I just felt cold. Literally frozen to the core. And I felt the numbness coming back. There was nothing but cold and numb, and my vision clouded, and it felt like my Soul was leaking darkness into the rest of my being. I don’t remember exactly what happened – everything was fuzzy after I lost my ability to see straight – but I know I later woke up in the hospital again.

“After explaining what had happened to Kimiwara and my siblings, Kimiwara guessed that what I’d experienced was something similar to a heart attack, but linked to my Soul instead of anything physical. Since I was the first recorded case of anyone surviving the kind of damage my Soul had, we couldn’t be sure exactly what was going on, but…we dubbed the incident a ‘Soul attack.’ And even though it was the first, it definitely wasn’t going to be the last. At one point, I had one while there was another mage nearby, and they helped explain what was happening. The light of my Soul is unnaturally dim from everything I went through as a kid, and it was prone to sputtering a lot for a long time. But when I started to heal, the light stabilized somewhat, and stopped sputtering. However, during a Soul attack, it sputters again, and the effect is everything I feel. Each time I’ve had a Soul attack, my HP has gotten worse, getting lower and lower after each attack. After the incident, I had ten. After that first Soul attack…I think it was eight. The next one was six or seven, then five. The last one I had was three. So when we met, I had three HP. The lowest of any human ever. Except now, after this most recent attack…it’s dropped again. I’m…I have one and a half HP right now.”

Up until now, Papyrus has been very good at not making any noise to indicate his reactions. He’s squeezed your hands with varying degrees of strength, and he’s even wiped away some of your tears when it’s been obvious that retelling the old stories was opening emotional wounds for you. But now, hearing your Stats, he sucks in a gasp. He tenses, you can feel it, but he doesn’t otherwise react. Like he promised. And you…you haven’t dared look at his face yet. You’re not sure you could make it through all of this if you saw his face. And as much as you want to look up at his gasp, you know you can’t. You have to get through this.

“I know. It’s bad. And according to Kimiwara, the recent attack left new damage on my Soul – I mean, each of them have, which is why the drop in HP, but still. This time, I…I could feel it cracking. I thought it was going to break. It didn’t, but it came close. And if I have another Soul attack, the likelihood of me surviving is slim to none. We don’t have options, really. I’ve…I’ve been kinda doomed by fate for a long time, even if all the miracles have just prolonged it. But now…this is why I wanted to tell you this. As much as I appreciate the offers to bring in people you know with healing magic to help me, healing magic alone isn’t enough to fix me. It might continue to help the limp I’ve had since the accident, but it won’t cure what’s actually going to kill me.

“Right now, I have two options. One, I stay at home and literally never leave. I cut off all contact with the outside world so I can never get hurt or risk another attack ever again. Or…two, I try to find my Soul mate and bond with them. I’ll still have to limit myself as far as outside contact goes for a while, but if I can find whoever is connected to my Soul, there’s a chance that binding our Souls will save mine from shattering. Kimiwara thinks that it may even heal all the damage I’ve taken, but that seems like a stretch to me. I dunno.”

You pause, gathering your thoughts. Was there anything else you should tell him…?

“Oh, right. There’s one other thing. About finding my Soul mate…we’ve…kinda already got a lead. See, for…medical purposes, since I have such dire circumstances with my Soul, Jax and Raya will take it out sometimes, to check it. Make sure there’s no new damage, and see if I’m healing up. And the other day…actually, the day of the Soul attack, they both had looked over my Soul. And they saw this…thread of sorts trailing off my Soul and disappearing into the distance. They couldn’t originally touch it, and it was faint, but still there. It was weird, because it wasn’t anything we were familiar with, but it wasn’t doing any harm, so we let it be. And good we did, because after I woke up, Kimiwara told us that the thread was actually the link between me and my mate forming. When she pulled out my Soul to examine it then, she could touch the thread, but only with magic. So it…it’s getting stronger, whoever my bond is with. But we still don’t know who it is, and we need to find out before it’s too late.”

Finally, you looked up at Papyrus’ face, through with everything you needed to tell him. Now everything was out there in the open. He knew everything about your past, and everything he needed to understand why you were…well, how you’d become. His expression, though, was unreadable. You couldn’t distinguish one emotion from the next, and it was like he was fighting to keep them all in check. You end up taking a breath and flickering your gaze around the room awkwardly as you wait for a response.

“W-well?” you prompt gently when the silence gets to be too much, squeezing his hands a little. “I know it’s a lot to take in at once, but –”

“______...stars, everything makes sense now,” he breathed. “your shyness, the dimness, the limp, the-the wariness of cars…oh hon…fuck, and everything going on with your Soul…”

“I-I know. It’s…more than any one person should be able to handle, honestly,” you reply with a nervous, tittering laugh, fidgeting with your hair. “But here I am. A miracle if ever there was one. Heh…”

Boney fingers gently untangle your hand from your hair, and you swear there’s something tender in the touch that has your chest tight and your eyes locked onto his face.

“hon…by the sun, moon, and stars above. a miracle doesn’t even _begin_ to cover what you are. can…i…i know i have no right to ask this of you. but i need to see for myself. i…may i see your Soul?”

You jerk in surprise, immediately blushing. You know what it means to have your Soul exposed, and you know he does, too. But before you get the chance to really even think about it, you both hear a sharp, quick gasp from outside the room. You both snap to look at the door, and just as the dread from the realization sets in that someone was listening, Papyrus shoots up and bolts to the door. You hear the pounding of footsteps just before he reaches it, and when he yanks it open and leans out, he glances back to you briefly. His look is startled and apologetic at the same time, then he’s tearing off after the eavesdropper, shouting, “bro, wait! _sans!_ ”

Your heart plummets as your face catches fire. Out of everyone, Sans was the one person you didn’t want listening in. The innocent cinnamon roll didn’t need to hear about your tormented past, nor were you ready to tell him. But now he knew – at least part of it. You had no idea how long he’d been there. Not that it mattered, really. You hadn’t wanted him to know any of it yet, let alone however much he’d heard. Goddammit, and it’d taken so much courage and willpower to just tell Papyrus…

You ignored the voices calling your name just minutes later, more than willing to stay in your little curled up ball of anxiety for now. However, when someone did finally find you, the soft, stuttering voice of your best friend was surprisingly welcome to your ears. She closed the door carefully behind her and shuffled over to the bed, hesitating before allowing her weight to dip the mattress next to you. She hesitated even longer before finally putting a hand gingerly on your back and rubbing as soothingly as she knew how.

“E-everything, okay?”

You manage out a strangled half-squeak/half-screech type noise in response. Undyne hummed sympathetically, continuing to rub your back.

“That bad, huh?”

You contemplate nodding, but end up with as close to a shrug as you’re going to get with your head buried in your knees and your arms wrapped around your legs to hug them close.

“W-what exactly…happened? I know. Um. You and Papyrus…went to the hall. But…”

You groan, hugging your legs harder. The soreness of your mostly healed injuries was actually helping ground you right about now…

“Y-y-you don’t have to t-talk about it i-if you don’t want to! I’d never m-make you talk…if you didn’t want. Um. Sorry. Just…no pressure.”

You shift so you can lean against her, taking comfort in her presence. As much as you needed to be calmed down, Undyne was probably the best person to have around right now, despite her lack of experience in easing the anxiety of others.

You just sit there for a bit, Undyne hugging you loosely against her side, and you just…remembering how to breathe. Once you can get a hold of yourself again, you uncurl to wrap your arms around your friend and nuzzle her.

“______?”

“I…I told him. I told Papyrus everything. About me, and what happened, and…all of it. But Sans was eavesdropping. I don’t know how much he heard. But I…wasn’t ready to tell him yet…I just don’t want either of them to think any less of me. Or, ya know…be scared to be around me for fear of hurting me or something.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t be!” Undyne insisted, stroking your hair. “S-Sans is a sweetheart, and Papyrus…I know he doesn’t scare easy. If anything, i-it’d drive him to want to be around you more. So he could be there to protect you. And Sans…he’s. Um. Alphys can attest, but he’s more observant than people think. H-he acts childish, but he’s actually really mature. He even fools Papyrus most of the time. Wait, why would you be w-worried about scaring them off?”

“Because…at least, as far as Papyrus is concerned…I know he knows my Stats now.”

“Did they change again?”

“Yeah. HP of one and a half.”

Undyne gasped, staring down at you in shock. You swear you even see her vibrant blue scales pale somehow.

“Sh-sh-shit, ______! One and a half…!”

You nod, having forgotten that you’d not told her the specific number. Oh well. She knew now. You scooted closer and cuddled her harder.

“No wonder you’d be so freaked out…I only know of o-one other person with Stats that low!”

“Really? Someone else with Stats as low as mine…? Who?”

Undyne blinked and opened and shut her mouth a few times, her scales steadily darkening. Oops, guess she wasn’t supposed to say that.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” you assure her quickly. “I’m just curious. I’ve never met anyone with Stats as low as mine. Anyway, I’m just…scared they’re gonna act differently or treat me different now that they know. Especially since I wasn’t sure Sans was even ready to know about all that, and I don’t know how much he _does_ know now. Ugh…”

“W-well, maybe we should go find them and s-see what’s up,” Undyne suggested, veering so unsubtly away from the other topic, you tried (and failed) to resist snorting in amusement.

“Yeah, that’s…honestly probably a good idea,” you sigh, following it with a reluctant whine. Undyne, however, pulled you to your feet and lead you to the door, despite your minor resistance.

“A-any idea wh-which way they went?”

“Well, Papyrus took off that way,” you reply with another sigh, pointing down the hall, “so if I had to guess…”

“As good a place t-to start as any.”

You nodded, letting her help you as you walked (more like meandered) down the hall. It didn’t take them long to figure out what room Papyrus had chased Sans into, given that they left the door open, and weren’t trying to be quiet about their conversation. You blinked before Undyne pushed the door open a little more, wondering why the hell they’d picked to talk in your recording room…

“sans…there’s a time to push boundaries, and a time to respect them. you’ve got to learn the difference, because you act like every time is the time to push. that ends up with someone getting upset, and one of these days, you’re gonna push too far, and everyone is gonna have a bad time.”

“BUT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, PEOPLE NEED A LITTLE PUSH! IT HELPS THEM GROW AS A PERSON!!”

“you’re missing the point.”

“G-guys?”

“Mrrrow?”

You tense at that sound. It could only mean trouble.

“Shit, how long did you guys have the door open?” you scowled, searching the room for your grey tabby. “Here, Zephyr! Kitty, kitty!”

You shake off Undyne to hobble around the room until you find him, huddled among the cords under your desk. Fuck.

“Of course you would,” you sigh, getting down on the floor. “Tricksy cat.”

You slowly and carefully manage to extract your cat from his hiding place without pulling any cords (thank fuck), only to have him squirm and try to twist his way free when you got him too close to the boys. Luckily, you knew how to handle him so he couldn’t injure you in his quest for freedom, tossing him out the door before shutting it.

“Good riddance. Love that damn furball, but if he fucks with my recording equipment…” you grumble, trailing off with a sigh as you pinch the bridge of your nose and shake your head. After a pause, you turn around to Undyne trying not to snicker, and the boys being very confused.

“you have a cat?”

“I DIDN’T KNOW YOU HAD A FELINE FRIEND!”

Now it’s your turn to snicker at them.

“Yeah, I’ve got a cat. Had him for a while now. And I…haven’t exactly had an opportunity to bring him up in conversation.”

Sans grinned, his big blue eye-lights turning starry before you shake your head and hold up a hand, turning serious again.

“Before we get off on a tangent about my cat…I need to know something. Sans…how long were you listening to our conversation? How much did you hear?”

Sans immediately hung his head guiltily and scuffed his boots along the ground, fidgeting with his gloves.

“UM…I…HEARD ALL OF IT. I WAS LISTENING TO EVERYTHING YOU SAID. ABOUT YOUR PARENTS, AND GROWING UP, AND…UM…A-ABOUT…”

You see him glancing to Undyne and sigh as your heart sinks into your stomach.

“Undyne already knows everything I told Papyrus. She knows about my Soul, and my Stats, and the position I’m in.”

“O-OH…HUMAN – ______, PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR LISTENING TO YOUR CONVERSATION! I JUST – I WANTED TO KNOW WHERE YOU TWO WERE GOING, AND WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT. BUT ONCE YOU STARTED EXPLAINING, I…IT DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT TO LEAVE. NOT WITHOUT HAVING THE FULL STORY…WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAD CHANGED YOU. INTEGRITY SOULS ARE RARELY SHY, IF EVER. IT JUST DIDN’T MAKE SENSE. BUT NOW IT DOES,” he adds, his voice becoming soft and sad. “I…REALIZE THAT DOESN’T EXCUSE MY BEHAVIOR, HOWEVER…AND I’M SORRY. IT WAS SELFISH AND INCONSIDERATE AND WRONG TO EAVESDROP ON SUCH A PRIVATE CONVERSATION. IT WAS NEVER MY INTENTION TO HURT YOU…”

You take a deep breath and he finally stops rambling. You let it out in a sigh and wrap your arms around yourself, looking at the floor rather than him.

“I…I’m not mad, Sans. I’m not gonna hate you forever or anything. Just…that was a major breach of trust, and it takes me a while to really trust anyone. And I’m definitely upset about it. But I…you don’t need to beg for forgiveness. I just wish you’d have…I dunno, waited for me to tell you myself? Or have trusted me enough to not do that? I…what I told Papyrus…everything you heard is extremely personal. It takes a lot for me to work up the nerve to just tell one person. And then, it usually takes me a lot longer to trust them enough to tell them. I’m not trying to be mysterious about it or keep secrets, but it’s just…hard for me to talk about. Partially because I’m so…abnormal. But mostly because of the emotional toll. It takes a lot out of me to relive everything. And I wasn’t ready to tell you yet. So that’s what stings the most.”

Sans looked like he was about to cry. It pained you to be the one to put that look on his face, but he had to understand just how badly he fucked up. It wasn’t irreparable damage to your relationship, but…

“Look, I…it’s going to take me a while to trust you again. It just is, even if I don’t like it either. But I can forgive you. Just not immediately. It’ll take time, and a lot of patience. Well, more time for me and patience for you. But still. Just…please be patient. Please…”

You stopped, wanting to find a better way of saying what was on your mind, but falling short. Sans seemed to understand, though, stepping closer and taking your hands.

“I MAY NOT HAVE TO BEG FOR FORGIVENESS IN YOUR EYES, BUT IN MINE, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BEG TO BE UNDERSTOOD. I CAN BE PATIENT. IT’LL BE DIFFICULT, BUT I CAN. AND EVEN IF IT TAKES YEARS, I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON REGAINING YOUR TRUST. I WON’T GIVE UP ON YOU, ______. YOU HAVE MY WORD.”

You manage a smile for the blue skeleton, relieved he got what you’d been trying to say. It was slow and short, but you hugged him and murmured a thanks. He didn’t hesitate to hug you back. Once you broke it up, you shyly looked between the brothers and toyed with your hair as the next topic of conversation came to mind.

“Um…there was…one other thing. For both of you, since you know. Um. A-about my Stats…”

“WHAT ABOUT THEM?” Sans asked bluntly, tilting his head to the side.

“W-well, I just…I-I know they’re really low, and I, uh, wanted to…um. Y-yeah, they’re low and all, but…don’t…worry about them? That doesn’t sound right. Uh.”

It seemed Papyrus understood you that time, as he chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pockets with a little smile.

“hon. you don’t have to worry about us treating you any differently just because your stats are lower than they should be.”

“OH! IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT? WELL OF COURSE WE WOULDN’T TREAT YOU DIFFERENTLY!! IT’S NOT LIKE IT’S ANY DIFFERENT THAN PAPYRUS’ SITUATION, AFTER ALL!”

The taller brother blushed and tensed, his easy smile faltering as he looked to Sans.

“bro…!” he hissed. You blinked blankly. Was there something you were missing?

“What are you talking about, Sans?”

“DIDN’T YOU KNOW? PAPYRUS’ STATS ARE ALSO VERY LOW! HE HAS ONLY ONE AT, DF, AND HP.”

“ _bro!_ ”

“WHAT?”

You stared in shock, glancing among your monster friends. You knew Undyne had known – she’d almost told you herself by mistake. But you were more shocked that his Stats were so low – equally has bad as yours, if not honestly worse.

“Whoa…I…I really didn’t know anyone’s Stats could go that low…at least, until mine came close. Shit, Papyrus, why didn’t you tell me?”

“same reason you were worried about yours,” he admitted, not meeting your gaze. “i’m not made of glass or anything just because my stats are all at one. and i don’t feel like being treated like it. besides, i can take care of myself just fine, even with the stats situation. same as you. though…i’m not exactly in as much danger as you, i will say that much.”

“Yeah, I’d assume _your_ Soul isn’t on the verge of shattering. Just…well, you can’t stop me from worrying, but I won’t treat you any differently if you do the same for me.”

“of course, hon. what kind of monster do ya take me for?” he teased, and you cracked a smile. Good. You were glad to have all that off your chest.

Out of nowhere, Sans made a small noise of surprise, and you looked to him.

“UNDER THE DOOR…!”

You glanced where he pointed in confusion…to see a little paw reaching under your door.

“Zephyr!” You scolded, laughter in your voice. “You silly kitty!”

You all laugh, then agree to go back to the party. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, and it was with reluctance that you saw off your friends at the end of the night. You were happy to be home, but you knew the biggest hurdles were yet to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. I am so, _so_ sorry this took so long to post. It took longer to get to than usual for a few reasons. I had the chapter ready to go before Christmas, but it took some time for my co-author, Book_Warrior7, and I to check through it for any changes in the tags and warnings that needed to be made. But then, of course, Christmas happened, and two days later...life came and hit me pretty hard. So there was trying to recover from that, on top of New Years, on top of trying to struggle my way through January and just _survive_...and, more recently, life hit me hard again. Let's just say 2019 ended in grief, and 2020 is not off to a great start. But we're both still hanging on to this story, and I wanted to prove it (and us by extension) wasn't dead just yet. Thank you guys for hanging in there and waiting patiently while I work on personal life stuff in the background. I hope 2020 has been kinder to all of you, and you continue to enjoy. -S


	10. The Cuphead Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So, for any of my super-sensitive peeps out there, this chapter contains a really rough sibling argument between Readz and Raya. If you're anything like my dear co-author Book_Warrior7 and are sensitive to such things, consider this your warning. Things are getting tense in the house! That said, enjoy the late chapter, and stay safe out in this crazy world, guys. -S

The next month is a bit of a blur for you. You (begrudgingly) agree to stay in the house and not leave until you learn more about who your Soul mate is, and fall into a relatively easy routine. You get up like you always did, you have tea and coffee with Jackson in the morning (since Raya was still looking for a job and tended to sleep in a bit now), you record for YouTube and work on your art (with mandatory breaks regulated by someone from your group calling you to make you stop), you spend time with your cat and siblings in the evenings…you even had your friends visit sometimes. Not more than one friend a week, though, during that month, so Papyrus ended up not coming over. (This frustrated both of you, it seemed, but nothing could be done about it, really.) More often than not, they were your only contact with outside, texting and calling them to try and satisfy your itch to be outside. You even pushed your siblings’ boundaries by facetiming your friends and clients when calling or messaging wasn’t enough.

It was a nice routine. Not too different from what you’d had before. Simple. Comfortable. Safe. But boring. You could feel the walls of the house closing in on you at all times, and you longed to be able to get out and about again. You hadn’t felt this restless since you were a kid…since before the incident with your parents. You hadn’t felt your sense of adventure since then. But now, the safety of your home was unappealing, and you longed for freedom again. You felt that old itch to get out and see the world, to be one with nature and experience other cultures, and just…live the way you hadn’t wanted to since you were small.

At one point, you’d even told Sans as much in an evening phone call, and he had sighed in sympathy.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. IT HAS BEEN HARD, NOT GETTING TO AT LEAST TALK TO YOU ALL THE TIME! AND PAPYRUS HASN’T BEEN COPING WELL AT ALL, EITHER.”

“What do you mean? He and I talk almost every night. I facetime him more than anyone. I haven’t noticed much different.”

“HE PROBABLY DOESN’T WANT TO WORRY YOU. HE’S BEEN MORE WITHDRAWN LATELY, THOUGH. AND HE HASN’T BEEN TO MUFFET’S ALL MONTH!! WHICH IS GOOD, BUT VERY UNLIKE HIM. AND HE’S BEEN LAZIER THAN USUAL, BUT SOMETIMES, NO ONE CAN FIND HIM!! HE SAYS HE’S BEEN OUT SMOKING AGAIN, OR HE WAS JUST OUT FOR A WALK, BUT WHO GOES OUT FOR A WALK AT SUCH RANDOM HOURS?! FOUR IN THE MORNING, FRIEND! FOUR!!!”

“Ew…why?”

“I DON’T KNOW, AND THAT’S WHAT BOTHERS ME.”

“Wait, why were you up at four, anyway?”

“HIS COMING HOME WOKE ME UP. BUT IT _WAS_ HALF AN HOUR BEFORE I GET UP IN THE MORNINGS ANYWAY, SO…”

You pause, absorbing that. It made sense, but…Jesus, Sans…

“I’m not even gonna ask why you get up at four thirty in the morning.”

“ANYWAY, PAPYRUS HAS ALSO BEEN STARING OFF INTO THE DISTANCE WITH A LONGING LOOK, AND BINGE-WATCHING YOUTUBE VIDEOS. I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY HE’S HAD SUCH A DRASTIC CHANGE TO HIS BEHAVIOR SUDDENLY!!”

“Hmm…that _does_ sound strange, even for him. Maybe I should bring it up next time…” you mutter to yourself, but shake your head and focus on something else Sans had said. “You said something about a Muffet earlier? Who or what is that?”

There’s a pause where you can practically hear Sans making a face as he replies, “MUFFET’S IS A DESSERT BAR, RUN BY A SPIDER MONSTER NAMED MUFFET. PAPYRUS USUALLY GOES THERE A LOT, WHICH I DON’T APPROVE OF, BUT…THIS PAST MONTH, I’VE BEEN THERE MORE OFTEN THAN HE HAS JUST LOOKING FOR HIM. I DON’T CARE FOR IT!”

“Why not?”

“IT INDULGES HIS ADDICTION TOO MUCH!! SO MUCH SUGAR…AND MUFFET ALSO MAKES EDIBLES AND ALCOHOLIC TREATS AND DRINKS, TOO. ANOTHER REASON I DON’T APPROVE!!!”

You snort and snicker at that, shaking your head. Maybe if you were a little stronger, you could get Papyrus to let you try some of Muffet’s edibles sometime…

“I can see why. Anyway, do you know if Muffet is hiring right now…?”

“WHY WOULD I KNOW THAT?”

“Well, I mean, it’s been two months and Raya is still having no luck finding a job. I just wanna see if –”

“I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO!!!!”

And just like that, the call ends. He’d hung up on you. You snort at your phone and end up texting Papyrus.

**_You:_ ** _ur bro is so weird, lol._

**_Skeletor:_ ** _tell me about it. no really, what’d he do? because he just ran out of here like a man on a mission, laughing._

Yeah, you could see that. You explained, and Papyrus agreed, also finding Sans’ behavior amusing.

A couple days later, you hear the doorbell ring while you’re in the middle of a stream. (Thanks to being partnered with Twitch, you could afford to spend some time streaming in addition to everything else.) You put up your “be right back” screen after explaining to the watchers that someone was at the door, but by the time you got to the stairs, you saw Raya was already closing the door.

“Hey, sis. Didn’t know you were home. Who was that?” you ask, descending as she smiled to you and carried a glass pan of…something to the kitchen.

“Nobody important. But yeah, been home for a few minutes. Look, we got shortcake!”

“Shortcake…?”

“Yeah. Looks like with little monster candies on top. Cute!”

“Huh. Was it the person at the door that dropped this off?”

“Yeah, but like I said, it wasn’t anyone important.”

You frowned at Raya and stared at her. You knew she was lying. It was in her body language. She wouldn’t look at you, and her smile was practiced. She was too relaxed and aloof. Whoever it was, she wasn’t letting them see you. Who and why was she turning them away?

“Raya. Stop lying. Who was it at the door? Why wouldn’t you let them see me?”

You sister huffed and turned, since she wasn't going to fool you.

“Because you need to minimize your risk of getting hurt again. It’s not safe to even open the door when someone’s not here with you. And when that someone at the door is a risk to remind you of all the bad shit and set you off – they get turned away.”

“Raya – I’m not that fragile!” you burst, angry. “You and Jax are my _siblings_ , not my _wardens_. This house is our _home_ , not a _prison_. So _stop acting like it!_ I’m not going to die the second I set foot outside! A little bit of the outside world isn’t going to kill me! I get it, you’re scared, but face it – I’ve been living on borrowed time for _years_. If it’s my time, it’s my time. So just… _stop!_ ”

“We’re acting like this to protect you!”

“Well maybe I don’t wanna be protected! Did you ever think of _that?!_ ” you scream back at her. You’re both angry, and you know you should walk away before one of you says something that you’ll regret, but you just can’t let this go. This is how you really feel, and you can’t keep it in.

“So you _want_ someone to shatter your Soul? Is _that_ it?”

“No, but –”

“Then stop acting like a damned spoiled teenager, ______! This isn’t about you!”

“ _Yes it fucking is!_ This whole damned thing is about _my_ Soul and _my_ life! And _I don’t get a fucking say in any of it!_ ”

You were in tears now, but it needed to be said. Raya seemed not to be having it, though.

“And how do you think it’d affect us if you died, ______? How do you think me and Jax would handle that? Our friends? Okay, yes, it’s all about you, but what about us?”

“Are you really being that fucking selfish right now?”

“You’re calling _me_ selfish? Who’re the ones always breaking our backs for you? Who’re the ones who fought for you growing up? Who’re the ones who never, ever, ever, _ever_ gave up on you? And you’re calling _me selfish?_ ”

“ _We’re a fucking family, Raya! That’s what families do!_ ”

Through your tears, you see your sister’s eyes spark with her magic, silver flashing shades of blue and purple. Then you gasp, feeling her telekinesis pick you up and throw you against the closest wall. It hurt, but you weren’t injured. At least, not physically. Raya had gasped, too, but the damage was already done. She’d gotten so angry with you, she’d used her magic to literally push you away.

“______, I-I’m so sorry, I –”

You shove her hands away as she goes to help you up, stumbling to your feet on your own. Once you’re on your feet, you run, back up the stairs and away from her calls of your name. You run back into your recording room, slamming the door shut behind you and locking it. It was your safe space, more than any other in the house. She couldn’t hurt you here. No one could.

You take the time you need to just cry it out, and somewhere along the way, you remember your livestream is still going. Shit. You have to wonder just how much your mic had picked up before trying to make sure you were presentable again and pulling down the “be right back” screen.

“Hey guys. Sorry about that. There was someone at the door, but I didn’t get to see who it was. My sister got to it first. Didn’t realize she was home…”

You give a small, dry laugh before checking the chat. Most of the messages were concerned and asking what was wrong. They had noticed and/or heard you crying, then. You can’t say you were surprised.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I’m still under medical house arrest, so it’s…been causing some tensions. My sister and I had a fight. It’s…everything’s still a mess right now. Sorry…”

Your chat blows up with concerned and supportive messages, and you could’ve started crying again, but you do end up smiling a bit.

“Thanks, guys. I’ll be fine. Promise. I just…need to get things sorted out with my medical issues, and as soon as I’m stronger, they’ll lift the house arrest. Things should get back to normal after that. Just wish I knew when that was gonna be, ya know?”

You laugh weakly, and just as you’re about to put your headphones back on and try to distract yourself from your misery with video games…

“______?”

You jump and squeak, clutching your headphones to your chest since they were in your hands when he spooked you. As soon as you realize who it is, you mute your mic and block your mouth on the camera’s side with your hand.

“Jesus, Papyrus! You scared the shit outta me! What are you…how did you…right, teleporting. But what…do my siblings know you’re in here?”

“um…not exactly…sorry for spookin’ ya.”

“I don’t care about that,” you instantly blurt, shaking your head. “I’m more worried about Raya finding you. She’s home right now.”

“no she’s not. she left a minute ago. i waited until she did to pop in. like you said, it’s a risk with them around. what are you doing?”

“I’m in the middle of a livestream. Or I was, until there was someone at the door…”

“which was me. i, uh…i’ve been…i…”

“You brought over the shortcake for us?”

“y-yeah,” Papyrus nodded, blushing for some reason and not meeting your eyes. “i just…was worried about ya, bein’ so cooped up now. thought i’d make somethin’ and bring it to ya. wasn’t expectin’ your sis, though.”

“Me either,” you reply darkly, glaring at the floor.

“you okay?”

You hesitate, but end up sighing and explaining what had happened. Papyrus seemed pretty pissed with Raya himself by the time you finish explaining, but he’s also got that look on his face again, like knowing you were hurting was causing him physical pain. He closed the distance between the two of you and gingerly wrapped you in a hug, pulling your face against his sternum. It was a little unexpected, but you still accepted it, burying your face in his hoodie and hugging him back.

You couldn’t help but idly think how strange it was that he was such a comforting presence now. It hadn’t been all that long ago that he had made you guarded and shy and you couldn’t meet his eyes. Now, hugging him was so comforting, it sent a wave of calm over you that seemed to wash away everything else. The smell of his hoodie – the smell of him, of something smokey and sweet and faintly citrusy with a mix of paper-and-ink new book and musky old book smell – it was a scent you hadn’t noticed you’d missed until he hugged you, but now you breathed it in like you couldn’t get enough. It wasn’t one you could pinpoint having smelled before meeting him, but it felt nostalgic, and you felt it tugging at your heartstrings.

“sure you’re okay, hon?” he asks, gently sweeping his thumb back and forth across a small section of your back. You nod with a sigh, hugging him tighter.

“Just didn’t realize how much I missed you,” you reply, matching his soft tone. You feel him tense slightly, and he hugs you tighter before you feel something brushing the top of your head. You move to look up and realize from the sensation of lips on your forehead and the tingle of magic across your skin that he’s attempting to kiss your head and be even more comforting. And it worked, though you blushed and your heart fluttered. He was so fucking sweet, and damn if it wasn’t melting your heart…

“missed you, too, hon.”

God, it was something straight out of a cheesy fanfiction or…well, just about anything in the romance genre, but you were still falling for it. Damn your being a romantic.

“Um, I should…th-the stream…”

“oh, shit, right. sorry.”

“No, no, you’re fine. Would you, uh…wanna join me? Or…hold on. I’ve got an idea. Let me just…”

You unmute your mic and finally return your attention to the stream. Chat had gone nuts over the unexplained mute and surprise Papyrus in the facecam frame, and were still going nuts. Whoops…

“Sorry about that, my little nerds. I wasn’t expecting my friend to show up in my recording room,” you laugh, hesitating over the term “friend.” “I…I’m probably gonna have to end the stream a little early today, but before I do, you wanna meet him?”

You watch the responses flood in, and it seemed like a resounding yes, with some disappointed but understanding comments about having to end early. You turn to Papyrus with a grin.

“What do you say? Wanna say hi?”

He looks floored that you’d ask, but also kind of excited when he nods. You scoot over so he can get in the frame better (even though he has to kneel since he’s so tall), and pull the mic so he can be heard better.

“uh…hi. what do i even say?” he asks you with a laugh, and you can’t help but giggle.

“Basically anything. You could introduce yourself, and how you know me.”

“oh. yeah. uh. well, i’m paps, and i’ve known her for…what, two months?”

You nod, and you can’t help but think how cute it is that he’s taking cues from you. Normally he’s the one in control and you know it, so seeing him flustered and looking to you for help is kind of adorable. He’s such an awkward dork!

“wha…uh…i mean…” Papyrus splutters, blushing, and you have to scroll to see what he might be so flustered over. Oh, someone had pointed out you were awfully close for only knowing each other for two months. Another had said how cute you two were together (oh geez…), and asked if you were a couple. From there, it was just a plethora of general excitement or other similar comments, but now you were blushing, too.

“Guys, come on…” you shake your head. “We’re not a thing. Don’t go all ship crazy. We’ve already got friends doing that, and it’s weird when it’s real people. And yeah, we haven’t known each other that long, but…well…there were some…uh, special circumstances that have really helped us bond. And like get to know each other and stuff.”

The first response was that the person thought he was cute, and you could definitely do worse. You blush harder and groan, not even bothering to read the rest of the quickly scrolling chat.

“Okay, guys, I think that’s enough for today. I’m sorry I have to end early today, but I will send out social media notifications before I go live next time, so you guys can come right back and fluster me some more. This is your lady and queen, FoxyNerd, saying I love you all, and I will see you next time. Stay foxy, stay nerdy…stay you, my friends,” you add with a wink to the camera. “Bye guys. Bye.~ Bye! Say bye, man.”

“er, bye,” Papyrus answered when you nudged him. You laughed as the stream ended, closing down the various programs for your equipment and shutting off your computer.

“So, you teleported in here, right?”

“yeah…?”

“Think you could teleport both of us out?”

“but aren’t you supposed to stay indoors?” Papyrus pointed out, and you pouted.

“The only reason I’m supposed to stay inside is to stay away from other people. But shutting myself away isn’t helping anyone. I don’t want to be a fucking princess locked up in a tower, waiting for her prince to come save her. Yeah, I’m not exactly in a state to be around too many people, but going outside won’t kill me. But my siblings are acting like it’s a death sentence if I even stick a toe outside. Thing is…this princess wants a jailbreak. _Needs_ a jailbreak. I may be a shy and timid twerp, but even I need a bit of fresh air sometimes.”

Papyrus looked taken aback by your speech, but also kind of…awed? Impressed? You weren’t really sure, but he did end up cracking a crooked little grin and holding up his hands as if surrendering.

“okay, okay. no need to plead your case to me. wow, you got really passionate there…it’ll probably get us in a lot of trouble if we get caught.”

You stepped up close to him (definitely invading personal space territory), and ignored your hammering heart when you looked up at him over the tops of your glasses.

“Then don’t get us caught,” you replied simply, putting his arms around you and wrapping your arms around him. Each act you took, down to the tone of your voice, was firm, confident, and determined. You were sure about this, and even if you were surprising yourself, maybe it was time for you to rebel a little. And who knew? Maybe the experience would make you stronger.

Papyrus was blushing now (why was that?), but nodded, seeing that he wouldn’t change your mind.

“a-alright. no promises, but…we can try to keep a low profile. where’d you wanna go?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Just…somewhere away from here.”

Papyrus seems to think on it, then nods to himself.

“i know just the place. you know the drill.”

You nod back, already getting giddy with excitement. Finally, a trip out of the house! You couldn’t remember the last time you were this excited to go outside. You waste no time, hugging him tight and burying your face against his chest as you close your eyes, bracing yourself for the passage through the Void. He holds you closer as well, until you’re more or less flush against him, and you feel the transition.

It’s been so long, you don’t feel like you were prepared enough, because the Void takes your breath away. You cling to Papyrus hard, and you swear your heart is going to leap out of your chest. It’s terrifying, but exhilarating, since you know on the other side of the Void is going to be a taste of freedom. And once reality fades back into existence around you, you immediately lean back and open your eyes – only to find you can’t see.

“Wha…?”

Papyrus snorts and snickers, and it takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust. You can see him now, but only faintly. Wherever he’s brought you, it’s dark as hell.

“Papyrus? Where are we? It’s so dark…”

“i know. your eyes will adjust. just one thing.”

“What?” you press as he lets go of you and steps back.

“look up.”

You obey, though confused. And you don’t regret it. Above you is an inky black abyss, with glowing, pulsing, glittering points of light dotted across it. It reminded you of when you had been getting back into art, and your siblings had watched you lay out all the black construction paper you had so you could take your brushes and create white paint spatter-patterns. You’d wanted to re-create the stars from having gone stargazing the night before. This was far more beautiful than your clumsy attempt, and it filled you with humbled awe, just like when looking at the stars. You were speechless, even though you were trying to come up with something, anything, to say.

“what do you think?” Papyrus finally asked. (He sounded a little nervous. Was he? Why would he be?)

“It’s…it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” you finally managed in a whisper, only tearing your eyes from the lights above you for a moment. “It’s beautiful…Jesus, I don’t have the words to describe this! It’s…”

You trail off with a laugh and run your hand through your hair, just soaking it in. When you finally make yourself look away, glancing Papyrus’ direction reveals that the lights above aren’t the only things glowing. As you begin to look around, you notice that there are pools of water nearby, and there’s grass everywhere, and a few flowers, all of which are glowing. Even the walls have points of soft light embedded in them. When you finally turn back to Papyrus and stay looking at him, all you can do is whisper in awe, “Where the hell _are_ we?”

Papyrus chuckles and sticks his hands in his hoodie pocket as he tips his head back and looks up himself. It’s difficult to make out his expression in the dim lighting, but you think you see…fondness, maybe? Or perhaps that’s what nostalgia looks like as an expression.

“we’re in the underground. this area is called waterfall, and this particular room is called the wishing room. you know how you humans have that thing you do where you wish on shooting stars? we kinda remembered that, but not exactly. and most of us had either been underground for so long that we couldn’t remember, or we’d been born underground and didn’t know what the stars looked like. but we thought this was something kinda close,” he added, gesturing to the lights. “most of waterfall is dark like this, but thanks to the bioluminescence in the crystals, water, and plant life, we can see enough to get around. and this room in particular has the most of the luminescent crystals that we thought resembled stars. so we’d come here and we’d make wishes on them. honestly, though? now that i know what the real stars look like…these can’t even compare.”

You were silent for a bit, absorbing that. You had so many questions, and suddenly, the humbled awe you’d felt before was more of a bittersweet feeling, with lots of heartache and sympathy for the monsters.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe they don’t compare to the real thing. But they’re all you had, and you guys…you did what I know you guys do best – you made do. You took a bad situation and you made something good with it. Maybe it wasn’t what you wanted – not even close – but it made you feel better. It gave you hope. And that’s…that’s still something. It’s better than nothing. And as an outsider to it all, I think that’s amazing. I think all this is beautiful, and I guarantee you won’t find this anywhere else in the world. It’s incredible. I’m…I’m awed. Humbled. Inspired! I would love to sit here for hours and paint this, even if I know nothing I could make would ever come close to capturing the majesty and tranquility this has. I…yeah, admittedly, I grew up with the stars. I take them for granted. I know I do. But this…this is something I don’t think I ever could. I guess I’m trying to say that…yeah, it’s nothing like the real thing. But it’s still something good, and it’s worth appreciating.”

Once you finally roll to a stop, you take a breath and laugh at yourself.

“Sorry. I’m not sure what got into me there. But dude, seriously. This is all incredible! Bioluminescent flowers and fucking _water!_ Crystals that emit light without needing to collect it via sunlight or other light sources! It’s…god…and to think, all this was under our noses the whole time, just like you guys. Wait…wait a minute. Am I allowed to be down here? Like, is this okay? I know it was like a royal decree or something that humans weren’t allowed to be in the Underground. So why…why bring me here…?”

Papyrus was staring at you, but you couldn’t read his expression – not because it was unreadable. No, it was just too dark to see his face clearly. Still, you sensed an intensity from his gaze that made you want to fidget. He seemed to shake it off quickly, though, and answered you.

“i brought you here because i know taking you somewhere with a bunch of people would be a big no-no. especially because it’s almost certain we’d get caught that way. so, somewhere out of and away from your house, without lots of people, and somewhere you’d like to be? well, i knew you’d never been to the underground – like you said, royal decree and all – so it seemed the obvious choice. and it’s fine you’re here. humans aren’t allowed without supervision by a monster. so as long as i’m with you, it’s cool.”

“Oh…well, okay. Um, by the way…like, how I said I’d love to paint this…? Could I take some pictures for reference photos later…?”

“you don’t need to ask permission for something like that,” he snorted, and it made you blush. You already felt silly for asking, but his reaction didn’t help.

“Well, I mean, I just…I didn’t want to take pictures if it wasn’t okay. And, like…this was your home. I don’t wanna cross a boundary or do something that’d make you uncomfortable or anything.”

You could see his surprise, then his expression softened, and you swear you could see the lights in his eyes change shape. Then he closes his eyes and chuckles, coming over and putting a hand on your head.

“you’re too precious, you know that? too kind for your own good. don’t worry, hon. you’ve got permission from a _bone_ -afide monster to be here and do as you please. go nuts.”

You giggle at his pun, grinning from ear to ear. You give him a quick hug and a thanks before digging out your phone and starting to try and take pictures. Admittedly, you didn’t have the best camera phone, but hopefully it’d do. You flit around the room this way and that, taking pictures of everything at different angles and sighing wistfully every so often. You can't help it – you’re longing for your sketch pads and some colored pencils, or at least a higher-quality camera to take the pictures with. Still, Papyrus doesn’t seem to mind your excitement and enthusiasm, just sitting on a bench nearby and waiting for you to finish. You think you can see that he’s smiling, but it’s hard to tell. You have to wonder what the rest of the Underground is like, if this area (Waterfall, right?) is like this. (However, you hesitate to ask him to show you around. He brought you to this spot in particular for a reason. You don’t want to push it, if being here makes him uncomfortable at all. You’re not sure if it does, but you still don’t want to impose.)

Once you’ve had your fill of taking pictures and sighing, you sit on the ground and lay back, just staring at the crystal ceiling with a smile. It was so pretty here, and peaceful…if you closed your eyes and listened, you could hear the trickle of water on the rocks, and a faint sound of music…a xylophone? Or was it piano? Maybe something electronic? You couldn’t tell, but you also didn’t care. It was beautiful and relaxing and matched the area perfectly. Hell, it was starting to lull you to sleep…

“you okay, hon?”

“Hmm? Mm, yeah. Sorry. Just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere. It’s so pretty…kind of ethereal, too. And that music…I can’t pinpoint it, but –”

“music? what music?”

“You don’t hear it?”

You opened your eyes to see Papyrus shaking his head as he stood over you. Huh. Weird. Why couldn’t he hear it?

“what’s it sound like?”

“Mm…hard to tell. But it’s something that sets the mood for this area. Like…hell, it’s like something from a video game soundtrack, but like…a good one. Imagine like a cutscene in _Final Fantasy_ or _Kingdom Hearts_ or something. Like, that pretty and enchanting and just…it’s like a siren’s song. I just wanna listen to it and fall asleep to it.”

Papyrus looked concerned, but didn’t comment, instead reaching down to help you get back to your feet.

“maybe it’s time to get outta here. where’d you wanna go next?”

You shrug, kind of disappointed you had to leave Waterfall’s wishing room. You knew you couldn’t stay here forever, but it was mighty tempting to ask to stick around just a bit longer.

Papyrus thinks about it, then nods to himself, like before.

“i think i know a place. different than here, for sure, and a bit of a jump, but i don’t think she’ll be too busy right about now, so it should be safe to take you up there. ready?”

You sigh and shrug, mumbling an “I guess,” but it’s just as nice to have Papyrus hold you close in preparation for the teleport and be surrounded by his scent again. You can’t help the smile on your face as you snuggle him right before he teleports.

You feel him tense, but a second later, so do you – the transition to the Void was much more jarring this time than before, and left you clinging to him harder. You also almost open your eyes, as you feel your combined balance starting to shift with the transition. Shit, were you falling? Was that possible in the Void? You weren’t sure you wanted to find out. Scratch that – you definitely didn’t want to find out. Just as you squeak, however, it’s as if reality snaps back into place around you, instead of its usual gradual fading in, and you hear Papyrus grunt as he falls away from you.

You hear him snap his fingers a split second before he hits the ground, and you gasp sharply, your eyes opening with your racing heart, because you’re suddenly weightless, suspended in the air by his magic again. Like before, you can’t move beyond looking around, but Papyrus doesn’t need to be prompted this time to put you down. As soon as he does, you’re left sitting on the floor, trying to catch your breath as he crawls over to you.

“you okay, hon? stars, fuck, i’m so sorry, i –”

“It’s…it’s okay. I’m fine. Shaken, but fine. That trip was…kinda jarring.”

“no kidding. i’m sorry for the rough landing, hon. i…i don’t know what…”

“Papyrus,” you say firmly, taking one of his hands for attention. “You’re okay. I’m not upset or scared or anything, and it’ll take a lot more than that to run me off. I’m not hurt, and…wait, are you okay?”

“what? yeah, of course i’m fine. i’m more worried about you.”

You huff a laugh at him and shake your head, smiling at him and squeezing his hand gently.

“And I promise you, there’s not a scratch on me. So we’re both fine, we’re safe, and nothing happened. It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.”

Papyrus looked conflicted, like he wanted to keep apologizing to you, but your arguments were making it hard. Your logic was sound, after all. He had no reason to apologize. Just as he looked away and opened his mouth to speak again, a nearby voice startled you.

“Hell of an entrance Papyrus! Where’ve ya been?”

The monster talking to Papyrus wasn’t the only one looking at the two of you, but thankfully, the building seemed pretty empty. A handful of other monsters were sitting at booths and tables around the room, and there was another behind the counter of a bar. Still, all the strange sets of eyes on you made you shy and timid, and you immediately scooted around so you were half behind Papyrus, hiding.

“uh…h-hey, bunni. been…busy, lately. you okay, hon?”

You nod, but don’t make eye contact with anyone but Papyrus. At least there weren’t that many people here…he must’ve accounted for that. You knew he wouldn’t bring you somewhere you’d be stared at like a circus attraction. You could do this…you could do this…just a little social interaction with a few people outside your circle. You hadn’t done this in a while, obviously, but it’s not like you’d forgotten how. Still, it was nice when Papyrus helped you up off the floor and took the lead, getting all the eyes off you.

As he greeted the various patrons (seemed they were all people he knew – coincidence, or were they all regulars here?), you took the chance to look around and try to calm your nerves. The décor was all elegant and feminine, but with an almost broody type of feel to it, and if it wasn’t decked out in shades of purple or black, it was lace, sweets, and/or spider-themed. Most of it was a combination of those elements. It was a bit like a Lolita look, if a room could look Lolita. And slightly goth.

Next up for observation were the other patrons themselves. A couple of them seemed normal – they’d gone back to their conversation after Papyrus greeted them – but the rest had vacant looks on their faces, like they were inebriated in some way. They were present, but not mentally there, so to speak. All but that one couple and the spider monster manning the bar were like that, so you relaxed. Clearly, they weren’t interested in you, so you didn’t have to worry about judgement or staring from them. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad…

“heya, muffs.”

“Good to see you, Papyrus, dearie. As the others said, that was quite the entrance. Are you and your friend alright?”

“yeah, we’re alright. uh, but don’t mind if she’s not very talkative. she’s typically pretty shy and withdrawn, so her and strangers don’t mix well. i’m helpin’ her get outta the house today. ah, introductions. muffet, this is ______.”

The spider lady before you lit up, and you could see the excited sparkle in her five expressive black eyes. She clapped her three sets of hands together gleefully, and her grin exposed two tiny fangs you tried not to stare at.

“Oh! So _this_ is the girl you’ve been talking about! I feel so honored you brought her here to meet me! It’s a pleasure, dearie,” she added to you, holding out a hand for you to shake. You hesitated, but took it, hoping your expression came across as a smile instead of a grimace.

“Hi…P-Papyrus…talks about me…? Wait a minute! Is this…? This is your dessert bar, right? Muffet’s?”

The sudden swing from shy and stuttering to focused and clear seemed to surprise both Papyrus and Muffet, but Muffet nodded.

“Yes. To answer all of your questions. Have you mentioned me before?” she asked Papyrus, who shook his head and shrugged.

“Sans did, when he said he’s been here more often than you in the past month just by looking for you. A-anyway, I wanted to ask, if it’s not too forward. Um…are you…hiring right now?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to a little help…but Papyrus told me you already have two jobs you work from home. Are you looking for a third, dearie?”

“Oh, no, not me. I was asking for my sister. She’s been looking for a job for a couple months now, and hasn’t had luck. She’s only ever had one other job, so that might be part of it, but…she’s got lots of experience as a waitress, since that was her last job. And she’s super friendly, and she likes people. Um. Sorry, I-I don’t mean to be really pushy about it.”

Muffet’s expression had softened as you’d rambled on, and she ended up giggling sweetly, making you blush a bit.

“Oh, no, dearie. It’s fine. I understand you’re just trying to help out your family. I understand that better than anyone. Just ask any of my spiders, or Papyrus here. Either way, I may not be looking for help, but that doesn’t mean if she comes in, I won’t give your sister a chance. Just have her drop your name and I’ll know it’s her.”

“Ohgreatthanks!” you push out in a relieved and grateful rush, giggling afterward. You were so tense! But she’d said something that had piqued your interest…

“Um…what did you mean by that, though? To ask Papyrus…?”

“oh, uh…well, see…muffs is kinda…me and sans’ unofficial adoptive mom. she found us after my incident and took us in. she left most of the raising of sans to me when i asked, but she did raise us as her own. just never got the paperwork done or anything.”

“Oh…wow. That’s so sweet! Why haven’t you mentioned her before?”

“well…it hasn’t really come up before,” Papyrus shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck as a bead of sweat rolled down his skull. You huffed and shook your head at him, Muffet giggling.

“It’s alright. I don’t mind too much. They’re both grown up, so it’s not like it’s a surprise that they get busy or don’t think to mention me. It’s not like I make it a point to mention they’re basically my sons.”

Papyrus rolled his eye-lights as you snort, and he replies, “yeah, nice not-so-subtle jab, there, _mom._ ”

Muffet makes a face you try not to laugh at. How is she pulling that off without a nose to wrinkle in distaste?

“A, don’t call me that. B, I’m being serious. I really don’t mind. No jabbing going on. But I do like getting to see you, and Sans when he comes to get you. Speaking of, he’s been in a lot more than you have the past month, as ______ stated. Why is that?”

Papyrus blinked, blushing hard. That was a deer in headlights look if you’d ever seen one. Though you were curious yourself why he’d been acting so out of character while you hadn’t been in touch…

“oh, well, it’s…nothing, really. just haven’t felt like going out much.”

You frowned, tilting your head. That was a super shitty lie. Why was he lying?

“But… _you_ decided to come check on _me_. And – like, I know I talked you into it, but…you didn’t have to agree to take me anywhere. And you’ve taken me to two different places now.”

The skeleton looks distressed you pointed out the hole in his lie, while Muffet looks between you with interest.

“Two places? I mean, I know you teleported in, but you do that all the time. What’s she talking about, _two_ places?”

“uh…well, i…we hadn’t hung out in a while, and…i kinda missed that. besides, i figured your first time outta the house in so long should be somethin’ special.”

You were touched he was so thoughtful…but something still wasn’t adding up about his answer…

“That makes more sense,” Muffet nodded. “You only teleport people you _like_ , after all. And then, it’s never been a human before.”

Papyrus glares at Muffet, but you’re caught off guard. He only teleported with people he liked? And you knew he wasn’t fond of humans, but for him to make such a big exception for you…

“Is…is that why you were so reluctant to get your car that day we were teleporting all over town together?” you ask. You see Muffet’s head snap your direction.

“ _What?_ He was teleporting all over town with you? When did this happen, and why don’t I know anything about it?”

“Oh, he didn’t…? Um, so, close to two months back, I was leaving my house to go look for this game, but as soon as he caught wind of it – and already knowing I’m kind of an accident prone trouble magnet – he insisted he’d go with me. We ended up teleporting all over trying to find it, but only after I made him give me his word he’d go get his car if he was straining himself at all. When it was obvious he was tiring himself out, but he wasn’t going to go get his car, I had to insist. He was really reluctant to leave me alone for the time it took to go get it and pick me up.”

Papyrus was looking steadily more panicked/embarrassed/freaked out the more you and Muffet talked, but why? What about this was so embarrassing for him? You felt like the realization was on the tip of your tongue, but just out of reach.

Muffet opens her mouth to say something, but as soon as she does, your stomach decides to speak up as well. And rather loudly at that. You immediately flush, but Papyrus’ face goes from a quick flash of relief, to narrowing his sockets at you. Hell, you were kinda surprised he didn’t have his hands on his hips when he looked at you.

“when’s the last time you ate?”

You pause to think about it. True, you were usually pretty good about feeding yourself, but as of late, the question was one that needed to be asked. There had been a lot of times recently where you just hadn’t had an appetite or weren’t hungry, so you wouldn’t eat. It was vexing to your siblings, adding to the tension in the house when it came up.

“Um…shit…I forgot I hadn’t eaten before I started my stream.”

“so a whole day.”

“Not a whole day! It’s not twenty-four hours yet. It hasn’t even been twelve. I think,” you mutter, more to yourself than to him. You weren’t really sure. You had no idea what time it was, come to think of it.

Papyrus sighs and rolls his eyes at you, and Muffet just clicks her tongue.

“No wonder you’re so thin. I’ll get you something to eat, on the house.”

“Oh, well, it’s not really…she’s gone.”

Your boney friend chuckled as you sat beside him at the bar, and you shot him a look.

“hey, not my fault you didn’t eat today. don’t worry about it, though. this is just how muffet is. she makes sure everyone is fed and well taken care of.”

“Maybe her name should be _Mom_ -ffet, then.”

Papyrus snorted hard, laughing until he had tears in the corners of his eye sockets.

“oh, i’ve gotta use that one on her sometime. shit, that was good.”

You giggled, glowing with a bit of pride. You knew Papyrus knew a lot of jokes and puns, so finding one he hadn’t heard was a rarity.

“Thanks. I don’t make good jokes,” you quip, imitating the most interesting man in the world meme, “but when I do, they’ll make you laugh so hard, you tear up.”

Papyrus tried not to burst out laughing again, and you giggled right along with him. You knew it was silly, but that was the point. You were a goofy, nerdy, adorable, geeky dork. You knew that, and you owned it. Besides, memes were good for almost anything.

“okay, okay. seriously, now, though. after this, what do you wanna do? anywhere else you wanna go?”

“Mm…there is one other place. But after that, home. There’s this game that I’ve been waiting to try out until I could find a good co-op partner to play with.”

“you don’t have any connections in youtube you’d wanna play with?”

“Can’t. It’s local co-op only. No online play.”

“really? what game is it?”

“It’s called _Cuphead_. It’s only on Xbox One, Switch, and PC, and it’s super unique in a lot of ways. See, it’s designed to look and sound like the old 1930s cartoons, and it’s mostly a game about fighting and beating a series of multi-stage bosses. They’ve also got a few run n’ gun levels built in to break up the monotony of so many boss fights, but the bosses are the main feature of the game. And I’ve heard the game is punishingly hard. Honestly, it’s one I think you’d have to see to really get, ya know?”

Papyrus hums and nods, smiling as you talk. There’s something in the way he’s looking at you that makes your heart flutter, but you can’t pin down what it is. You push the thought aside when he answers you, though.

“sounds interesting. if you play it, let me know. i’d love to watch.”

You smile and nod, but immediately after completing the action, an idea hits you, and you gasp dramatically. You know you’re looking at him with the starriest expression when you grin and almost shout, “ _You_ could be my player two!”

You shift from excitement to worry as Papyrus chokes on nothing, his face going bright orange. Had you really surprised him that much?

“Whoa, hey! Are you okay?” you ask at a more normal volume, reaching over to rub his back gently.

“yeah, yeah. sorry. just…wasn’t expecting that. i’ve only ever heard you talk that loud – louder, actually – twice before. no, three times. it’s…good to hear you raise your voice about something good this time.”

Oh…come to think of it, he was right. You’d only raised your voice round him before when there was danger or trouble. Actually, this was the first time in…you couldn’t remember how long…that you’d raised your voice in excitement. Just as you murmur a soft, “Oh…” of realization, a plate clinks against the counter at your elbow, making you jump. Right, Muffet was getting you food. You’d completely forgotten your surroundings again. Why did that keep happening? And why only with Papyrus?

“What’s this about a player two?” Muffet asks as she leans against the counter, offering you something else to focus on.

“Uh, oh, right. You probably heard that. I was kinda loud, huh?” you chuckle sheepishly, “Uh, there’s this game I was wanting to play, but I wanted to play it with a partner, and you can only do it with someone sitting next to you, instead of…say, playing with two people halfway around the world from each other. I was saying he could play with me. Be my player two for the game.”

“Oh. That seems like fun,” Muffet smiled, though you could tell the explanation didn’t sink in, really. You were used to it, though. Having to explain gaming things to non-gamers was always tricky.

“Yeah. Ah, thank you for the food,” you add, ducking your head and fiddling with your hair. Muffet giggled, and she and Papyrus both moved at the same time to pull your hand from your hair. They both stopped, seeing the other moving, and you all three laughed about it. You ended up dropping your hand from your hair yourself in favor of actually eating what Muffet made for you. A simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but damn it was good!

“Oh my god, this is amazing!” you mumble to her around a mouthful of the sticky delight. “What kind of peanut butter and jelly did you use?”

“Organic. And local. I make the preserves myself,” the spider answers with pride.

“Oh my god. I _have_ to have some. Like, do you sell jars of it, or…?”

Muffet looked surprised you asked.

“I…well, no. I hadn’t thought of selling it on its own before. I mean, when Jezebella and I trade, I give her some in exchange for what she’s giving me, but…”

“Jezebella…?”

“she’s a bunny monster who runs a store. used to run a smaller one in snowdin.”

“Oh. Well, anyway, would you want to sell some of your preserves? I’m not sure I’d have anything worth trading for them, really…”

“Mmm…maybe…but I can give you one on the house this time.”

“Oh, I can’t do that! You’ve already fed me without charge –”

“One bite into your sandwich doesn’t count as feeding you.”

You laughed, but shook your head, continuing with your point.

“You know what I mean. I’m trying to say it doesn’t feel right to just…accept so much from you without giving something back. Ya know?”

“You want to pay me back? Keep him out of trouble,” Muffet snorted, gesturing to Papyrus. You also snort, a wry smile quirking the corner of your lips before you take another bite and talk around your food.

“I can try…but I can’t make any promises. I mean, I’ve been pretty homebound lately, and will be for the foreseeable future. This? Today has been a bit of a jailbreak.”

Muffet hums, then leans against the counter with her top set of arms, the other two busily cleaning under the counter.

“That reminds me, what we were talking about earlier. Why was it Papyrus was teleporting you all over town, again?”

“Oh, well…”

You explained it again, still omitting the details of what had ended your trip out, still eating your sandwich. Muffet nodded and hummed, thinking.

“Unusual behavior for him, considering you haven’t know each other that long, but…I suppose I should just be glad he’s making friends.”

“Why’s that?” you immediately blurt, adding, “I mean, he’s pretty likeable. I don’t see why he’d have trouble making friends.”

“Oh, that’s just the thing. He’s plenty likeable. He just rarely lets anyone close enough to really be friends with him. So he doesn’t have that many. I’m one of the exceptions, and that was after years of hard work and trust building and…well, I won’t bore you with the details. Anyway, point is, it’s incredible you’ve gotten into his inner circle so easily and so quickly. But I can see why you have.”

“Huh? R-really?” you glance between the skeleton and the spider, surprised. “Why…?”

Papyrus wasn’t looking at either of you, but you could sense this was much more than he’d really wanted you to hear already. But you couldn’t help your curiosity. Why were you so different?

“Your Soul, dearie.”

“ _What?_ Wh-what about it?”

“Goodness, easy, dearie. I didn’t know it’d get that big of a reaction out of you. I’m only talking about your colors. I don’t know what you were thinking, but…”

“Oh. No, sorry, it’s…I…”

Fuck. You couldn’t tell her. It was right there, on the tip of your tongue. It’d be so easy to say that your Soul was messed up. To tell her it was damaged. But you couldn’t. Not even be vague about it helped.

“______ has some special conditions with her Soul. she can’t really talk about it,” Papyrus simplified for you. The clipped and cold way he said it stung for some reason, but you nodded anyway. He was right, after all.

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be, dearie. I’m sorry I was so tactless about it,” Muffet reassured you, taking your hand with one of hers and squeezing gently. “What I was trying to tell you, though. It’s the color – rather, colors – of your Soul that make the difference. Do you know the colors?”

“Yeah. Green and blue. For kindness and integrity.”

“Exactly right. But you see, it’s not just the color’s meaning, or the colors themselves. It’s also the shade of the color that matters. For example, two people with purple Souls would be very different individuals based on how dark or light the shade is. The closer to the true color it is, the stronger that person’s core trait is. We refer to that as how ‘pure’ the Soul is. The lighter it is, the less that core trait is used, even though it’s present. The darker, the more tainted with badness and evil things it is. Yours is the closest to the true colors of blue and green I’ve seen in a long time. They’d be a draw for any monster, really. Especially your kindness.”

You took a second to absorb that, then smiled. Hell, you were sure you were glowing. You’d never heard good things about your Soul before! And your siblings had never taught you anything to do with the shades of the Soul colors. Did they know? You weren’t sure. Either way, it made you happy to have someone compliment the mangled mess that was the core of your being.

“Have you never heard that before, dearie?” Muffet asked in amusement. You blushed and giggled sheepishly, shaking your head.

“No. No one’s ever told me about the hues, or that my colors are…’pure.’ I like that. I must be doing _something_ right, if my Soul colors are so awesome!”

Muffet giggled sweetly, and Papyrus sighed, sitting upright again.

“hey, hon. didn’t you have one other place you wanted to go before i took you home?”

You blinked, then remembered his earlier questions.

“Right. Um, if it’s okay, could we…go back to the mountain…?”

“okay…? where’d you have in mind?” he asked, raising a brow bone at your hesitance.

“Well…um…the top would be a good place, I guess. I-I wanted to go somewhere with more natural beauty, like Waterfall, but not…back to the Underground. I don’t wanna get you in trouble for taking me down there twice.”

Papyrus frowns and opens his mouth, but Muffet cuts him off before he can get a word out to you.

“Excuse me, _back_ to the Underground? _Twice?_ ”

At the maternal accusatory tone in her voice, you both tensed, Papyrus more so. You were pretty sure you’d never seen a panicked look on his face like this. He even grabbed your hand and pulled you up out of your seat, dragging you with him as he started walking away from the bar.

“top of the mountain it is!”

“Papyrus, what did you do?!”

“see ya later, mom-ffet!”

“Wha- Papyrus! _Papyrus the skeleton!!_ ”

You squeaked as Papyrus pulled you forward so he could pick you up, sweeping you off your feet and gracefully into his arms. He was already teleporting as Muffet screamed his full name at him, and since he was going so fast, he turned your head so his hoodie was all you could see. The transition wasn’t as jarring as it had been on your way to Muffet’s, but it was still enough to make you cling to him for dear life, belatedly thinking to close your eyes.

Reality faded back in slowly and carefully, as it should’ve, so it took you a second to register the wind pulling at your clothes and the cold nipping at your exposed skin.

“A little w-warning next time…” you mutter as Papyrus puts you down.

“sorry about that, hon. you okay?”

“Shaken, but no worse for wear. Muffet sounded pretty mad.”

“yeah, i’m sure i’ll be hearing it the next time i go in…” he sighed, chuckling to himself.

“What was she so upset about?”

“well, you heard her – she doesn’t like being called mom.”

“She was mad before that.”

Papyrus paused, as if searching for the right thing to say, then promptly looked out past you.

“why was it you wanted to come up here, again?”

“Don’t change the subject! You’re not gonna answer me now, are you? Ugh,” you huff after realizing that no, he wasn’t. “I wanted to go somewhere nature-y one more time. Besides…snow.”

“we coulda gone back to the underground for that.”

“But you’d be in bigger trouble, wouldn’t you?”

He didn’t answer, so you took it as a yes.

“Thought so.”

You giggle, then sigh to yourself as you admire the view. It was pretty awesome. You could see the rest of town in the distance, and even the skylines of other nearby towns. Mostly, though, it was nothing but trees and clouds and sky. You liked the serenity of it.

After taking some pictures, you put your phone away and dig into the snow bank next to you, throwing some into the air with childish glee.

“so. snow.”

“ _Yes,_ ” you hiss, playing more with the snow.

“it hasn’t been that long since you’ve been outside,” he pointed out, amused. You deadpan and look over your shoulder, purposely falling to your hands and knees in the cold white fluff.

“It’s been a month.”

“not that long.”

“A month,” you clarify, flipping over so you could make a snow angel, “is thirty to thirty one days. Except!” (Here, you pointed at the sky dramatically.) “Except February, which has twenty eight or twenty nine, depending on if it’s a leap year. It’s been a month.”

He pauses as you continue with your snow angel, eventually muttering, “fair.”

Once he has his back turned, you scooped up some snow and packed it down into a snowball, lobbing it at him without really aiming. Just as it would’ve hit him in the back, though, he started to turn around, the snowball narrowly missing him. He looked between where the snowball landed and you before fully turning to you and asking, “really? did you just…?”

You giggle and shrug innocently, but you’re definitely prepping another snowball while he’s watching. You narrowly (accidentally) dodge an oncoming frozen projectile, too, and from there, it’s on.

After at least an hour, you’ve had your fun in the snow and are sufficiently cold and wet and pleased. He laughs at you, of course, but still hugs you close when you go to teleport, his touch much warmer than you remember. Like, you were about to make a joke about it, but thought better of it. Too flirty.

You had him teleport you back into your recording room, since you locked the door, but you invited him to stay there while you went to change.

“i would, but…how long until your sibs get back? i mean, we were out for a long time.”

You pouted, but he had a point. But you wanted to play some _Cuphead_ with him…besides, today had been so much fun, you didn’t want it to end. You honestly couldn’t remember the last time you’d had a snowball fight, or had such a good time talking to a stranger, or had your breath taken away by the beauty of nature. And all of those were possible because of Papyrus…

“I guess you’re right…wouldn’t wanna risk you being here when they get home. Especially Raya.”

“yeah, i get the feeling ray-ray doesn’t like me too much.”

“Yeah – wait! Hey! How’d you know about that nickname?”

“the day we met, you called her that before going up to your recording room. i overheard your conversation.”

“Eavesdropped more like. I remember now. You weren’t as sneaky as you thought. We both knew you were doing it, too. Yeah, Raya doesn’t like you for some reason. Also, don’t call her Ray-Ray where she can hear. It was my childhood nickname for her, and she’ll fight literally anyone else who calls her that.”

“aw, so no playful teasing?” he asked in a mock disappointed tone, grinning. “damn.”

You giggled, shaking your head at him with a smile. You really do want him to stay, but it’s better not to risk another fight. Especially when it’d get him in trouble with your siblings. You already got him in trouble with Muffet, which you know he’s not looking forward to dealing with. So you end up lightly pushing on his shoulder, as if to push him away.

“Go on, then. I don’t want you getting in trouble. Well, any _more_ trouble,” you amend, giving him a look. Papyrus chuckled, but you knew you were right from the look on his face. Still, you hesitate a moment, then reach out and hug him before you can think too hard about it.

“Thanks for today,” you whisper into his hoodie, holding him tight. You didn’t know how long it’d be until you could see him again, so you wanted to commit as much of this – of him – to memory as you could. Maybe you wouldn’t miss him so much that way. His arms wrap around you easily, and you feel his nasal ridge in your hair as he nuzzles the top of your head.

“any time, hon.”

There was something in the way he said it that made your chest suddenly tight, but you ignored it, giving him one final squeeze before letting go. You kept you head down, eyes on the ground, until you could feel the tension in your chest ease a little. When you looked up, he was gone.

So then…what was that strange tightness in your chest about? You didn’t have heart or lung problems, so it wasn’t that. But it wasn’t just a coincidence that it happened the one time…right? Could you get it to happen again? You figured you’d try. You thought about the moment it happened, Papyrus’ words, holding him close…you replayed the moment in your mind, your breath hitching when the tightness returned. It wasn’t just in your chest, it was a tightness in your Soul – after so many problems with your Soul, you could distinguish the difference between feelings from your body and feelings from your Soul pretty accurately.

You couldn’t ask your siblings for help with this one – you would have to explain what had caused the situation, and they would be pissed with Papyrus. But you had no explanation for what would cause that feeling with your Soul, knowing it had something to do with the tall skeleton. And if you contacted Dr. Kimiwara, she’d likely tell your siblings what had happened, since she didn’t believe in keeping secrets from the family. But who could you talk to…?

When the answer came to you, your head snapped up, and you started searching for your phone, unlocking your recording room door and flopping down in your chair as you hammered out your message.

**_You:_ ** _Hey, Unnie-hunny. We, um. Gotta tlk. Sumthn happened 2day that I can’t tlk 2 my sibs about, & I can’t trust my doc not 2 tell them if I tell her. If I tell u, u gotta SWEAR 2 ME u won’t tell any1. & if u absolutely HAVE 2 tell Al, then swear her to secrecy, 2. I need advice, & I don’t kno who else 2 go 2. Txt me back when u get this._

Your thumb hovered over the send button for a while, but you ended up pressing it. You needed to know what was going on, and since Undyne was the former Royal Scientist for the monsters, she would be the person to ask. You just prayed she could actually keep it a secret, since you weren’t sure if Alphys would spill the beans, should she find out. You doubted it, but…you also didn’t want to cause any kind of rift between Undyne and Alphys, nor Alphys and Jackson.

You sighed, leaving your recording room and going to your room, deciding to change into clothes that weren’t still soaking wet from the snow at the mountain’s peak. You wished you didn’t have to sneak around like this, but…it had also been a real rush, going out with Papyrus when you weren’t supposed to. And as the events of the day replayed in your mind, you found yourself smiling, sighing wistfully, and a warm, fuzzy feeling washing over you. Still riding high on the giddy feeling, you glanced to your phone, then snatched it up, sending a new text.

**_You:_ ** _Any time, huh? How about the next time ur free? ;)_


End file.
